CASH CAUSES DEAL DOUBTS FOR MURRAY

GLENN MURRAY reckons football clubs will be far more cautious with their cash as a result of the coronavirus crisis.

Even the Premier League’s richest organisations have been hit severely by the fallout from Covid-19, with clubs up and down the land realising very quickly that the game’s landscape has changed drastically.

The Brighton skipper knows the impact has been great and that is why he believes owners and chief executives won’t continue to splash the cash the way they used to.

Murray said: “There’s nothing I would like to be different about football when it returns, but I do think it will change football.

“All player contracts will be worded very differently from now on to include the words ‘pandemic’ and ‘epidemic’.

“And I’m sure football club owners may keep a little cash in the bank for a rainy day rather than spend it on that striker who is going to get you out of a predicament.”

Thankfully for Murray, Brighton have already spent a few bob on a striker they hope will ensure they aren’t in the same predicament of a relegation battle again next season by extending his own contract.

But other players throughout the English football pyramid have been less lucky and many of those whose contracts are due to expire next month face an anxious wait to see what lies in store.

Murray added: “It’s a tricky situation and I really do feel for those guys.

“I was nearly one of them but luckily I got something sorted at the end of January.

“Looking round for a club at 37, it would have been difficult. The one hope for them is that the game will continue. It is just when.”

That is the burning question for everyone and, until such time as a date for a resumption can be set in stone, Murray and his team-mates will struggle to agree what measures they should accept in terms of wage cuts or deferrals.

Murray said: “We’re quite a way off a conclusion because we don’t know what the outcome will be – that is the main problem.

“We have a group here at Brighton who are willing to help the club.

“But what lies ahead, no one knows yet.”