Mark Donnelly, Phil Smith and James Copley discussed all things Sunderland on the latest edition of The Roar Podcast and the journalists spent some time talking about the recently introduced League One salary cap and how it might impact the Black Cats’ chances of signing former Everton left-back Luke Garbutt.
Garbutt spent the 2019/20 season on loan at Ipswich Town. His Everton contract expired this summer and he is now a free agent.
The full-back had been linked with a move to Sunderland recently, however, following the recent introduction of a salary cap at League One level, Black Cats boss Phil Parkinson stated that: “one or two players who maybe we thought we could have got last week are not in the market place for us now.”
Smith talked about the Black Cats’ chances of signing Garbutt following the introduction of a salary cap during the latest edition of The Roar Podcast.
The journalist said: “If Sunderland want five more players, which we know is what Phil Parkinson wants, we reckon he’s probably only got – an optimistic guess – about £2k a week to play with.
“If you’ve got players like Luke Garbutt on your wishlist, [it’s] very, very tricky to see how that’s going to play out. So, tough challenges for Sunderland, who are either going to have to recalibrate or they’re going to have to try and shift some players somehow.”
Will Sunderland sign Garbutt in this current transfer window?
YES
NO
TIF Thoughts…
If Smith is right in saying that Parkinson may only have ‘about £2k a week to play with’ per player in terms of wages for the remainder of his signings in the current transfer window, it may be understandable why the journalist believes the club may struggle to sign Garbutt, who has been earning £28k per week over the last five seasons, according to Spotrac.
As a result, the North East club may have to look at other options following the introduction of this League One salary cap.