Curle 'won't put Cobblers at any financial risk' in the transfer market

Manager Keith Curle insists he will not put the Cobblers 'at any financial risk' by paying over the odds during the summer transfer window.

Curle has always placed an emphasis on getting value for money in the transfer market and he will happily walk away from any deal if he feels it's overpriced, and that mantra rings true now more than ever following the financial implications of the coronavirus pandemic.

Clubs all across the land have lost significant income due to the enforced break - many teams haven't played for over five months - while the EFL last week introduced a new salary cap for the bottom two divisions, set at £2.5million in League One.

The downfall of clubs such as Bury and Bolton serve as a warning of what can happen if costs spiral out of control and Curle is determined to not let the Cobblers suffer a similar fate, even if it means missing out on his top targets.

He's signed three players - Jonathan Mitchell, Christopher Missilou and Joseph Mills - so far but has admitted he's lost out on others.

"The financial structure within football is changing this summer and it's my responsibility, with the stakeholders at the football club, to have a strategy in place and to bring in players that I think can add value to the club on the pitch," said the Town chief.

"Other clubs may have slightly different financial profiles compared to ourselves as we're newcomers to League One but what we won't do is put the club at any financial risk.

"There is a risk already but what we're trying to do is make it a manageable risk because the club will lose money next season, guaranteed.

"That is the nature of the industry but what we don't want to do is make it so it's unsustainable and there's a knock-on effect year after year because that can lead to some of the things that unfortunately happened to other football clubs that didn't show good housekeeping.

"Because of the current situation, it is of paramount importance that we pay what we can afford to pay and we don't go over our budget."