Luton’s soon-to-be out-of-contract players will be asked to play after their deals have expired, as the club hopes to complete the Championship season and beat the drop.
After two months away due to the Coronavirus-enforced shutdown of football in England, the first team squad will return to training on Monday, with a view to restarting competitive action sometime next month.
But Town have a raft of stars whose current deals expire after June 30, which could prove problematic for any football played beyond that, with nine matches still to complete, with Luton aiming to haul themselves out of the bottom three in the league.
Luke Berry, Danny Hylton, Callum McManaman, Glen Rea, Elliot Lee and Marek Stech are members of the first-team squad that will be out of contract on July 1, while Town have an option on deal extensions for Kazenga LuaLua, Jacob Butterfield and Donervon Daniels.
Potential severance money could see stars paid until the end of July, but after EFL chairman Rick Parry outlined a plan to finish the campaign within 56 days, that could mean players playing for free in August.
Luton’s chief executive Gary Sweet, who has also admitted that all players are up for sale, said: “Ordinarily, the transfer window will be open so we would be able to trade. We can’t do that until the season is finished.
“So, in July, if the player is out of contract by June and if he hasn’t found another club by then, we have to pay (wages in) July as well, as a severance situation. We’ve got to pay for players that are leaving (in) the month of July, which is an additional sum of course.
“So, we are going to ask them if they’re willing to play and hope they do to keep the squad together, as much as anything else.
“Of course, we won’t be able to re-sign any new players at that time either, so July could be an interesting month.
“But, I’ll be honest, if I had to call on you (media) to put your boots on in August, then I’d rather do it and play, than not.”
There are votes taking place this week for all EFL clubs to take part in, focused on player contracts and extensions to contracts.
