Sam Ricketts: Shrewsbury contract talks on hold
Talks with out-of-contract Shrewsbury Town players have been put on the back-burner due to the coronavirus crisis, says boss Sam Ricketts.
Half-a-dozen members of Ricketts’ first-team squad at Montgomery Waters Meadow see their contracts expire at the end of June.
The situation regarding players whose contracts expire this summer is one of the chief sticking points to be addressed by governing bodies worldwide with the season, if it is to resume, set to run deeper into the calendar year.
Josh Laurent and Omar Beckles are out of contract this summer, as are goalkeepers Joe Murphy and Harry Burgoyne and midfield pair Romain Vincelot and Brad Walker.
Asked if he has been in talks with out-of-contract squad members, Ricketts said: “To an extent but not knowing where we’re at or when the season is going to end makes it really hard to sit down with players at the minute and say this is where we stand with them as individuals.
“It’s not something we’ve really been able to do. We don’t know if we’re at the end of the season, if there’s 10 games to go, or when next season is going to happen.
“We’ve not really addressed that issue yet.”
Ricketts believes clubs are ‘in the dark’ when it comes to transfer business.
The Welshman says the halting of income revenue streams, and no fixed date for football’s resumption, means there is less clarity on what is available for managers to spend.
“Every club is in the same situation with not knowing what the future holds in terms of recruiting financially and income revenue coming in,” he added. “That’s the bit we’re all in the dark about and ideally get clarity on sooner rather than later.”
