Typified by the vagueries of a hurried answer to a question only half-asked, the looming presence of a muddied Brexit is finally sinking its teeth into football.
Hypothetical scenarios regarding the effect Britain’s exit from the European Union would have on English football has been valuable conversational currency in the recent months; conjuring up what it could look like, without ever seriously considering that it will happen.
Yet, as representatives from each Premier League club are presented with the contingency plan of the English FA on Thursday, idle chit-chat becomes something altogether more insidious.
Top of the agenda will be the topic that came to define the 2016 referendum itself; foreigners.
A fiercely competitive, global institution, it would appear that Premier League clubs will soon have to deal with the prospect of capping their number of non-British players, and subscribing to a quota that former chairman of the FA Greg Dyke believes will be "one of the few good things" to come out of Brexit.
Inevitably leading to increased playing-time for young English players, it follows that England’s national team should benefit as a result.
Arguing to the contrary, Matthew Syed of The Times believes such tokenism realistically carries with it the more significant threat of complacency: "English players with guaranteed places have a less powerful incentive to improve."
Therein lays the debate. Much like the discussion surrounding Brexit at large, it is wholly unsatisfying.
Some of the Premier League's best and most successful players since its foundations have come from foreign shores. Image: Anthony Devlin/EMPICS Sport.
Why do so many foreign players currently strive to play in the Premier League? Money and prestige play a significant role undoubtedly. Yet, beyond these initial temptations, what else is there?
Irrespective of the disheartening shadow that Brexit has cast over England’s welcoming nature, it goes without saying that numerous foreign footballers make the journey to England because they will feel welcome.
Contrary to the comparably prestigious (but admittedly less affluent) leagues in Spain and Italy, the Premier League, emerging as it did from the wreckage of English football in the 1980s, has not only enabled diversity, it has championed it.
To the detriment of the English national team though it may be, the success of the Premier League is built upon its global appeal.
Where the Republic of Ireland make for an interesting case study regarding a national side that has suffered as a result of this expansion, it is ultimately bigger than us, and having more of a positive impact on an unimaginable scale.
Where else but England could you see the domestic champions line out in a derby with 10 different nationalities represented in both starting XIs?
The proposed 12-man limit on foreign imports will scarcely change this dynamic overnight. Yet, one feels it establishes a practice that isn’t likely to move in the opposite direction once it gets underway.
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