A proposal for the Champions League could see the top four in the Premier League forced to navigate a qualifying round to get to the group stages.

The current format sees the top four sides in England, Spain, Italy and Germany secure direct entry into the group stage of the tournament.

But, according to the Athletic, Danish champions FC Copenhagen have put forward a proposal that would take away the free pass for those sides.

A suggested reform to the Champions League could see Premier League teams be put into qualifying rounds ahead of the group stages depending on their European performance

Both Ajax and Celtic, who regularly navigate into the group stages through qualifying, are believed to support the suggested reform to the tournament.

The way Copenhagen's reform works is that every side that qualifies would be 'ranked' from one through to 79 which factors in their results in European competition over the previous 10 seasons.

Once the numbers are crunched, the 22 sides lowest on the list would be entered into the first round of qualifying, the next 13 sides go into second round, 12 more teams go into the third round, 12 in the final play-off round and the top 20 on the entry list go straight to the group stages.

RB Leipzig are among the sides across Europe that would have to navigate early qualifying

Had Copenhagen's system have been in place for the 2019-20 edition, all four English sides would have been included in the top 20 spots.

The idea is likely to be opposed by Premier League teams who will be against the idea of giving up their direct entry to the group stages.

The Athletic detail how the Premier League 'believes it has been assured by European Leagues' - the body that represents the domestic leagues on the continent - that the existing four spot 'will not be jeopardised'.

Places are currently allocated as per a country's club coefficient but the suggested alteration would prove damaging to sides like Leicester City and RB Leipzig of the Bundesliga, both of which have not got historical success to call on ahead of qualifying for the Champions League next season.

Leicester would be entered into the first or second round and would face a far tougher task of getting to the group stages.

The Copenhagen model would be damaging for sides such as Leicester City having to qualify

Atalanta, who are closing in on a quarter-final berth for the first time, would have had to start their season in the first qualifying round.

The idea behind it is to take away punishment from sides who consistently qualify but see their coefficient hindered by poor performance from sides in their own country.

In 2019, Juventus chairman Andrea Agnelli offered a reform that went the other way in a bid to see 24 of the 32 teams in the Champions League keep their place from season to season.

There would then be a promotion and relegation with the Europa League but that idea was swiftly rejected by peers.