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Preston boss Alex Neil has urged the EFL to enforce a transfer embargo on teams that have furloughed staff or implemented wage cuts.

Birmingham City were the first team in the second tier to agree to wage deferrals, with all players earning over £6,000 agreeing to a four month, 50% cut.

Teams including Leeds United, Brentford and Bristol City have also slashed players’ wages amid the suspension of football due to COVID-19.

The measures were taken by the Blues players in order to ensure that all non-playing staff would be unaffected during the pandemic.

But Neil, whose Preston side are still paying staff and players in full, believes those that can’t, should be banned from making transfers.

"If people are taking wage cuts or deferrals then people are putting cases forward that they shouldn't be allowed to sign any other players," Neil told LancsLive.

"Because if they can't currently pay the players they have got then why should they then be allowed to use the money they have deferred from wages to then invest in their squad to bring better or more players in?

"I don't think that clubs who have run their finances in an organised and good manner should then be hampered and hamstrung when other teams are maybe slashing wages and then the window opens and we get out-bid for a player that they have brought with money that they have deferred from another player.

"That cannot be fair. So it will be really interesting to see how that comes out in the wash."

The summer transfer window is set to open on June 10 as things stand and will run through until August, though there are growing calls for the rules and dates to be changed.

Portsmouth chief executive Mark Catlin has already proposed that the transfer window remains open until the end of January and says he has already lobbied his fellow EFL members to support the scheme and believes League chairman Rick Parry is in favour.