A dramatic change of tack by Uefa means that the Football League will face competition for the inclusion of Celtic and Rangers should it choose to invite the Old Firm into the new five-division English structure proposed for the 2019-20 season, Telegraph Sport can reveal. The possibility of an Atlantic League is back on the agenda, involving clubs from Scotland, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden and Holland.

It was first mooted in the 1990s, but enthusiasm waned repeatedly in the face of Uefa’s policy of maintaining the primacy of national associations. The governing body of European football maintained that the foundation of trans-national leagues would threaten the authority of national associations, but that article of faith has been weakened significantly by veiled threats by superclubs to institute a breakaway European League.