The Premier League in England are understood to have received initial assurances from leading clubs that they will not actively pursue a breakaway to form a proposed European Super League without prior consultation.

Initial reports indicated that Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool had been given a deadline of 5 p.m. yesterday to provide written undertakings that they would not take part in any breakaway.

There was even talk of the Premier League considering the possibility of taking out a legal injunction against them if they refused to do so, while the top-flight clubs were said to be gathering in London today for a crisis meeting.

Yet it would seem that doomsday scenario talk of a building crisis, emergency meetings and strict deadlines is premature - for the time being, at least.

The clubs in question have not made any official comment on the matter, but are understood to have made their positions clear in initial, informal discussions with the Premier League over recent days.

A Football Association spokesman Steve Double said: "We believe that it is in everyone's best interests for the clubs to stay within the existing system and we support the Premier League's position on this."

The prospect of a Super League from the year 2000 was raised with the news that a consortium of marketing, legal and financial interests with no previous involvement in top-level football are reported to be secretly courting Europe's top clubs.

They are said to be offering the clubs, also including AC Milan, Juventus, Real Madrid, Ajax and Bayern Munich, a £3 million bonus to sign up to a guaranteed place in a Super League, with even more lucrative possibilities then available.