Transfer and player wage budgets are being slashed by clubs at all levels of English football as the financial impact of the coronavirus begins to set in, i can reveal.
Most Premier League clubs sought player wage reductions when play was suspended back in March due to the pandemic.
The majority of Arsenal’s players took a pay cut whereas other clubs, such as Southampton and West Ham, agreed deferrals, so their players will be paid the lost wages at a later date.
Many clubs did not, in the end, manage to secure any form of reductions with their players but i has been told that clubs are already indicating their transfer and wage budgets for new recruits will be significantly lower than in recent years.
Player Lens, the leading online platform for player transfers used by around 600 clubs globally, is already seeing a shift in data, with clubs using its platform searching for cheaper transfers and players with lower wages.
“The trend we’re seeing is that clubs don’t have much of a transfer budget, if at all,” Lee Hemmings, co-founder and managing director, tells i.
“There’ll be a lot of clubs that are looking for players, but they won’t be delving into the transfer market because they can’t afford a transfer fee.
“We have a decent idea who’s doing what, and what’s clear is that people don’t have a transfer budget this summer.”
Multiple factors could come into play. Even if clubs do have funds, they may feel it inappropriate to be splashing cash on new signings as the world deals with a deep recession and swathes of people lose jobs.
Chelsea have seemingly bucked that trend by pushing through the signings of Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner on big wages. However, the feeling is that they have needed to improve the squad after being banned from making transfers last summer.
“Clubs are going to make their own personal decisions about how they want their brand represented,” Hemmings says. “I think the likelihood, though, is that the the trend for budgets that clubs have are going to be significantly reduced.
“We’re seeing wage budgets for players coming in being slashed as well. I don’t think players are going to get the wages that they expected. So I think wage budgets are going to come down really significantly as well.
“Let’s say if we’re looking for searches from clubs in the Championship. The parameters [for preferred fees] they are putting in are considerably lower. Same again in the Premier League, we’re seeing people coming in and looking for players with budgets which will be much lower than they have been historically.”
Lower down the pyramid, the landscape for English footballers could shift significantly in the coming season. Clubs in Asia, for example, are not reducing their wage budgets as much and are now offering higher salaries than many clubs in the Championship.
“The interesting thing here is that the reductions may not necessarily be global,” Hemmings adds.
“I’ll give you a strange example: we’re now seeing clubs in Asia that are potentially paying the same or more money as the Championship. Players might think it’s time to move to Asia because they have a lifestyle they want to keep up. It’s going to throw some different questions out there this year.”
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