Any Premier League club seeking to cut costs during the coronavirus crisis and take advantage of the government’s furlough scheme should be stung with a transfer embargo, says Manchester United legend Gary Neville.
Tottenham are the most high-profile club to have revealed that they will be looking for assistance when it comes to covering the wages of non-playing staff. Liverpool had also taken that approach, but have since reversed that decision after attracting widespread criticism.
Neville believes those looking for handouts should be prevented from spending in the next window, with it a serious contradiction to suggest that there is not enough money in the pot one minute and then look to splash the cash on new recruits a few weeks down the line.
The ex-England international told Sky Sports as talk of eye-watering deals begins to build once more: "These transfer discussions, whether it be Harry Kane to United for £200 million or Jadon Sancho to City or United for £100m, it completely undermines the discussions the Premier League are having with the players around taking a 30 per cent pay cut.
"If you're asking for a 30 per cent pay cut across the board and you're going to spend another £1bn in two months on transfers. The Premier League spent £1.4bn last summer on transfers and the previous three summers they also spent over £1bn. If you're trying to get 30 per cent pay cuts from existing players, you may have to put a transfer embargo in place.
"If I was the PFA, and Tottenham want a 30 per cent pay cut, or Manchester United on their players, which was what was said a couple of weeks ago, then it's very difficult for the existing players to then see their club do a transfer for £200m three weeks later.
"Transfers are things the fans love, and we love players moving around, but it does seem to me to be awry when we've got such a behind-the-scenes war going on with respect to players taking cuts, the clubs needing support, and then in the next breath you've got a £200m transfer speculation going on.
"That doesn't feel right to me. Premier League clubs can't stop the speculation, but there's no smoke without fire. I would suggest the Premier League to stop this would probably put a transfer embargo in place on all clubs that are looking to reduce their players' wages.
"That would take away a lot of the angst that is existing among the players behind the scenes who feel they're having the wool pulled over their eyes by the clubs."