Usually at this time of year clubs have much of their focus on the final run-in as pressure ramps up to conclude a campaign on a high.
Off the pitch away from the public gaze a key priority is to sort out the futures of stars on their books who only have one year left to run on their contract.
Of course this year it is a little different. The coronavirus outbreak may have halted on-pitch proceedings but that has only led to chaos behind the scenes at clubs all over Europe who have been left panicking over the testing financial times and how to conclude existing campaigns.