By Craig Scott

13th Mar, 2020 | 7:30pm

MOT View: Kaveh Solhekol update could throw spanner into works for Leeds bid for PL return

It’s agonising, isn’t it?

Since Leeds United last played in the Premier League, almost 16 years have passed but this season it seemed as though a return to the promised land was finally back on the cards.

Yes, it looked good last season before the eventual collapse but we’re almost halfway through March and, as it stands, Leeds are top of the Championship and seven points clear of third.

Leeds can’t fall apart again now, can they?

Unfortunately, it seems that things are not completely out of Leeds’ hands with the coronavirus pandemic sweeping across the globe, forcing cities into lockdown and wreaking havoc on English football.

On Friday it was confirmed that the Championship season will be suspended for the rest of the month, with the hope that everyone will return to action on April 4.

But with the way this virus has been spreading itself to every corner of the globe, it really seems that the return of football of April is wishful thinking at best.

And that seems to be what officials at top clubs in the Premier League agree to, with Sky Sports journalist Kaveh Solhekol sharing that top-flight sides are majorly concerned that the 2019/20 season is already over.

“Some of the clubs think that if football restarts on April 4, then, conceivably, the season could be completed by the scheduled finish date of May 17. And that could involve, of course, games being played behind closed doors,” Solhekol said on Sky Sports News on Friday, as shown via Football Daily’s Twitter account.

“But some of the other clubs – quite a few of the other clubs – people I’ve been speaking to say that they are resigned to the fact that they think the season is over. They can’t see how any more football is going to be played this season.

“One senior source at a club, just a few minutes ago, said to me: ‘I can’t see any chance we are back in three weeks. This will go on for months. You wonder even about the start of next season. I would say there’s a 75 per cent chance that this season will not be completed’.”

Are Leeds United going to have to wait at least another year for promotion to the Premier League because of this suspension?

It remains to be seen how the EFL, Premier League and FA will respond if football fixtures cannot be fulfilled before the end of May, when the season is supposed to have ended. But it does not look good at all based on the information that Solhekol has been told.

If Premier League bosses aren’t sure of the season being completed, then that will have a drip-down effect on the Championship, League One and so on.

Leeds can’t go up if there’s no one to replace.

In other Leeds United news, the Whites are in the race with Manchester City to sign this young winger.