Shrewsbury Town to vote for salary cap

The Shropshire Star understands that all third tier clubs will vote on the cap on Friday as football undergoes changes in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

It is proposed that the flat wage cap limit in League One will be £2.5m, which is lowered to £1.5m in League Two.

Many feel that the limit will allow for a more level playing field in the lower leagues, meaning Town’s rivals can not spend drastically on player wages.

Chief executive Brian Caldwell has already outlined the club’s desire to see a cap introduced, but he has reservations about clubs still overspending.

His view is that clubs who already spend below the £2.5m cap may spend beyond their means to reach the limit – which could push more clubs into financial trouble.

Despite that, it is believed that the club will vote in favour of the cap as it gives them a greater opportunity to keep pace with the traditional big spenders in League One.

The £2.5m limit does not only cover player wages, but it also includes appearance money, bonuses, relocation, agent fees and employer national insurance contributions.

The vote was due to take place on July 29, but it was pushed back by the governing body.

League Two clubs will vote on the cap today, a day earlier than League One, with rivals Walsall expected to vote in favour of it.

Meanwhile, former Town midfielder Pete Wilding – who played for the club between 1997 and 2003 – said it’s a shame Shrewsbury didn’t get a fee for Josh Laurent.

The 25-year-old was the subject of interest from several Championship clubs in January and although he was offered a new Shrewsbury deal, he left for free last week.

“Reading got him for free – I’m not sure what happened with the deal,” he said. “From Shrewsbury’s point of view, they might have missed a trick for some easy money as he’d have been one of the assets, I’d have thought.

“It’s a good challenge for Josh, I think everybody knows he’s capable of stepping up, he’s certainly got the ability. I think it’s the consistency thing he needs to nail down.

“He’s got a lot of really good attributes, from an attacking midfield point of view he scores and creates goals and should be able to make the step up no problem at all.”