Premier League in talks with the FA and EFL over winter break

The Premier League has confirmed it is "open" to the idea of a winter break and has held discussions with the Football Association (FA) and the English Football League (EFL) in the hope of finding a "workable solution" to ease fixture congestion.

A winter break is prevalent throughout Europe, with many of the continent's top leagues opting to rest and recuperate while the whole of English football plods through a busy schedule.

Managers such as Jurgen Klopp, Sam Allardyce and Pep Guardiola have all called on the Premier League to have a rethink about its current schedule and league officials have revealed that they are hoping to find a way to ease the strain on players by affording them a mid-season break without having to make wholesale changes to its current calendar.

A statement from the corporation, relayed by Sky Sports, read: "The Premier League has been in discussions with the FA and EFL for several months regarding the challenges of the increasingly congested English football calendar, and ways in which we can work together to ease fixture congestion while also giving players a mid-season break.

"Provided space can be found in the calendar, we are open to this in principle and will continue constructive discussions with our football stakeholders to seek a workable solution."

Domestic competitions such as the FA Cup and Carabao Cup could face radical changes if a winter break is imposed throughout the English football pyramid. There have been suggestions that the FA Cup could become a midweek tournament without replays, while the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup could be reduced to one single leg rather than two.

League officials have also considered freeing up the two weekends after the third round of the FA Cup, but such a change would only work for the Premier League as the second, third and fourth tiers of English football need every weekend available in order to complete their respective fixtures.