Salford star Ryan Brierley has admitted the Red Devils squad are ‘aware’ of a possible takeover of the club looming on the horizon: and insists he never once wanted to leave the club in the off-season.
The Red Devils are closing in on a deal that will safeguard their future, with an overseas syndicate preparing to take control the Super League club. Despite widespread talk about player departures over the winter, they could still enter the new season with their whole roster intact.
Brierley is one of several Salford stars linked with a move after the club was instructed to reduce their salary limit outlay by about £800,000, a position they currently appear to be able to manage without any departures.
And he told Love Rugby League that while they have been kept out of buyout talks, they are aware of happenings behind the scenes.
He remarked, “We’ve been in the dark for a long time, to be honest. That is more of a question for each individual athlete, but I trusted Paul Rowley’s honesty. I’m just glad we can focus on a competitive game this weekend and go back to playing rugby. It’s good to have that focus instead of all the extraneous noise, which is difficult to avoid.
“We haven’t really had any chats. We are aware that something is going on in the background, but we don’t know how close or far. You folks in the media will know more than I do; we’re taking each day as it comes.
Brierley also stated that he had never requested or intended to leave the club.
“I was always hopeful I could stay because we’ve got a great group here,” Brierley explained. “There has been a lot of agent discussion, but it has all been handled by the club. I’d say that the players had no say in all of this. Finally, nobody left. I believe this relates to the group’s strength.”
When asked if he had been approached by any clubs, Brierley said, “I’m very happy at Salford.” I’ve been really pleased there for many years. We’ve always been kept in the dark about approaches.
Salford return to competitive action this weekend with a Challenge Cup match against Midlands Hurricanes. And he believed that the Red Devils squad’s unity had become stronger over a tough offseason.
“The fact we’ve got such a good group really helps us,” he told me.
“If we hadn’t had that, things could have been a little sticky. Because this group trusts one another, it is enormous. We’ve always received openness from Paul, and that’s all we expect from the men at the top. I’m really pleased of us for getting here today, and I hope there will be many more months of good news ahead.”
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