BATTLE ROYALE

Champions accuse PL of 'misleading' top-flight chiefs ahead of crunch summit meeting next week | Clubs will have to only overcome 'minor issue' as league are confident they can update the rules

PREMIER LEAGUE clubs will only have to overcome a "relatively minor issue" in their legal battle with Manchester City.

The 20 top-flight teams will hold a crunch summit next week amid the escalating civil war with City, after the champions won a legal ruling on Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules.

But top lawyer Simon Leaf, Mishcon de Reya's head of sports law, believes City have only "won on penalties after extra time". The Premier League are confident they can quickly update their rules, which are designed to ensure commercial deals with entities linked to a club's owners are done for fair market value, before the whole financial system is due for a major overhaul next summer.