Championship clubs fail to agree £20m salary cap

Championship clubs have proposed a salary cap of £20million in a move to force drastic changes to the English Football League’s financial rules.

Senior executives from the 24 clubs met yesterday to discuss the profitability and sustainability (P & S) regulations and failed to reach an agreement, with more talks planned for next month.

It is understood that one of the proposals put forward was to enforce a salary cap of £20 million, plus a limit on squad numbers, but some clubs were keen on the cap being higher, so the situation remains unresolved.

Rival clubs are also demanding that the EFL concludes its legal fights with Derby County, Birmingham City and Sheffield Wednesday before agreeing to any changes to rules. Those three have been charged by the EFL this season for breaching P&S regulations and face punishments which range from points deductions to fines.

The EFL is under pressure to resolve those cases this season, which could have serious ramifications for the Championship campaign.

Clubs did agree to push the transfer deadline back to 5pm on Sept 1, aligning with the Premier League. The window usually closes on Aug 31, but will be extended as that day is a bank holiday.

In 2019, the transfer window closed the day before the season started, but it proved unpopular as English clubs were facing the prospect of losing players abroad and being unable to replace them.

“EFL clubs have agreed in principle to amend the deadline of the summer transfer window to the traditional closing date at the end of August,” the EFL said.

“A process for formally adopting the change into EFL regulations will now take place in due course, bringing Championship clubs in line with the current position for League One and League Two.”