PREM STRIKE FEAR AT EFL SALARY CAP

PREMIER LEAGUE players could be asked to go on strike in support of their lower-division colleagues if the EFL attempts to impose a salary cap.

Sunday Mirror Sport understands that industrial action is an option the PFA will consider if Championship, League One and League Two clubs go ahead with plans to put strict wagecontrol measures in place.

That would mean £200,000-a-week superstars like Harry Kane, Sergio Aguero and Virgil van Dijk (above) withdrawing their labour alongside players who get by on a few thousand pounds a month.

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League would also be affected.

A source at a big League One club that would vote against the EFL’s proposal in its current guise said: “The salary cap will probably get the green light from clubs because so many of them see it as the best way to limit expenditure.

“That’s understandable. But not all EFL clubs have the same issues.

“If some can afford to pay players more, then they should have the ability to do so.

“There will be opposition over a salary cap from the bigger clubs – but it will probably come down to the players themselves to stop it.

“That means going to the union to protect their interests and the possibility of a strike.”

The EFL wants to bring in FFP regulations which will force Championship clubs to cap salaries at £19million a year.

In League One and League Two that budget will be £2.5m and £1.5m respectively.

EFL chiefs insist they are trying to safeguard the future of clubs by preventing them spending beyond their means.

The financial fallout from the coronavirus crisis is looking bleak for lower-league clubs.

But while the PFA allowed clubs to impose wage deferrals of up to 25 percent during the pandemic, it is unlikely that players will accept long-term salary caps.