Leeds United are amongst the Championship and EFL clubs that may see their transfer budgets could be cut by 50 per cent due to COVID-19.
With professional football at a standstill due to the ongoing crisis, the game is set to feel the financial repercussions of months without ticket revenue and other income sources.
The Telegraph report that there are growing fears in the game about the financial effects of the delay in action from club owners as they await an update from the FA, PFA and EFL expected later this week.
Whilst there have been suggestions in the media that the EFL are targetting a return date of June 6 for football, that will be almost exactly three months since Leeds United last took to the field.
Fear is growing as each day ticks by as clubs continue to pay staff whilst generating next-to-no income, which is proving especially costly at the bottom of the football pyramid.
The Telegraph report states that a small number of lower league clubs have even been discussing the possibility of imposing a mandatory 50 per cent pay cut for players with owners prepared to risk the potential legal fall-out that could follow, with player salaries continuing to be the biggest cost for football clubs.
However, the report also explains that, given the watertight nature of players’ contracts, that move would see teams facing a host of expensive legal challenges from lawyers.
Roughly half of EFL clubs below the Championship estimate that they will not able to pay their players' wages for April and the threat of playing fixtures behind closed doors between now and the end of the season could see the same outcome ring true for May and June.
Clubs have been busy exploring where they can make major savings at the same time as protecting revenue streams and many accept that playing and commercial budgets for next season will have to be drastically reduced if a solution is not found imminently.
