Southampton have become the first Premier League club to agree salary deferrals with its playing squad, for a period of three months in the first instance.

The club issued a statement today to say that "the board of directors, the first-team manager, his coaching staff and the first-team squad have agreed to defer part of their salaries for the months of April, May and June to help protect the future of the club, the staff that work within it and the community we serve. "

The statement added that it will not be furloughing non-playing staff.

"The club can confirm that it will not use the government’s Job Retention Scheme during April, May and June. Our owners, Mr. Gao and Katharina Liebherr have put measures in place to ensure that all staff not deferring part of their salaries will continue to receive 100% of their pay, paid in the normal way until 30th June. Any decision on the future beyond this date will be made in advance of this, but only when more information is known."

Other clubs such as Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United have come in for criticism for signing up to the UK Government furlough scheme for non-playing staff.

It is interesting that the agreement between Southampton and their players came via a club statement and had no mention of the Professional Footballers Association, who have been involved in a stand off with Premier League clubs over the financial consequences for the respective stakeholders during the coronavirus pandemic.