TOP-FLIGHT club executives will gather tomorrow for their first meeting since details of a legal challenge by Manchester City against Premier League financial rules were reported by The Times.

The league’s annual general meeting, which will be held at a hotel near Harrogate in North Yorkshire, is taking place at a particularly tense juncture, with between 10 and 12 top-flight clubs reported to be supporting the Premier League in defending itself against City.

The champions are reported to be challenging the validity of the Premier League’s associated party transaction (APT) rules which dictate that all commercial deals must be independently assessed as being for fair market value, with an arbitration hearing set to begin on Monday.