Wolves boss admits his club are looking at what’s on offer from their Super League rivals after they were ordered to sell players ‘without delay’ to fill a huge hole in their finances
Sam Burgess admits Warrington could snap up some of cash-strapped Salford’s players insisting: “It’s business.”
Clubs are circling after stricken Red Devils were instructed by the RFL on Wednesday to sell players immediately. They need to recoup a massive £800,000 – approaching half the salary cap spend – just four weeks before Super League’s big kick-off.
Salford have already been under ‘special measures’ after needing an advance on their central funding last month.
But that’s not eased fears of a financial meltdown and they must now cash-in on their prized assets with Marc Sneyd, Nene Macdonald and Kallum Watkins among those who could be shipped out to get down to a sustainable cap level of £1.2m.
Warrington had initially completed their squad building for 2025. But Wolves boss Burgess admitted: “It’s daft to think you’re not going to have a look.
“We’re not not in the market. It’s business. It’s the business of winning. Everyone else is doing it [looking] so…I don’t know [what’s happened at Salford] as I don’t work there. But it’s obviously not great for everyone involved.”
Things have got so bad that League 1 Keighley have offered to help their plight. They will host Paul Rowley’s side in a friendly on Sunday week – and have offered to pay Salford’s transport costs to help make sure the game goes ahead.
Cougars have also said their non-playing players will host a bucket collection at the game “to help raise funds towards Salford’s player expenses.”
Salford, who needed to sell Man of Steel Brodie Croft and England hooker Andy Ackers to Leeds just over a year ago to avert another financial crisis, remain hopeful they will get new investors on board.
Last night’s statement read: “The club has been directed to sell players without delay.
“The position is the RFL has issued a sustainability cap of £1.2 million and until we reach that, we are now prohibited from registering players for the upcoming season.
“The terms of receiving the advancement were that the club be placed under ‘special measures’ requiring a reduction in overheads of £800,000.
“We were not given a clear timeline for compliance on required expenditure reductions, therefore the club took the decision to hold our position for the short-term while investor negotiations are ongoing.
“During this time, the club has received offers for a number of players, none of whom have been available for sale until today.”
