STAR fullback Valentine Holmes looms as the key figure in the club’s salary cap scandal following revelations it could cost the club his signature.

The report follows shocking revelations from NRL 360 co-host Paul Kent that the Sharks are suspected of orchestrating a system to deliberately pay players outside the cap.

The NRL’s finals series threatens to be overshadowed by off-field drama after it was revealed Cronulla are being investigated for historical third-party discrepancies.

The Sharks confirmed on Tuesday night they’d self-reported issues that date back to 2015, which were first spotted by new chief executive Barry Russell earlier this year.

The Daily Telegraph first reported the NRL has also seized a number of servers from the club to help with inquiries.

The Telegraph’s Dean Ritchie told Sky Sports Radio on Wednesday morning the scandal could force Holmes to accept a monster offer to join North Queensland next season.

If the NRL’s investigation discovers any cap breaches — the threat of a salary cap reduction penalty for the 2019 and 2020 seasons would make it almost impossible for the club to retain Holmes.

The NRL in March announced that part of Manly’s $1.5 million salary cap breach penalty would be a $660,000 salary cap reduction across the 2018 and 2019 seasons.

According to the Telegraph, the Sharks’ initial concern appears to be around $250,000, however there is still a chance that could grow.

Fox League expert Paul Kent revealed the investigation will also centre around another non-disclosed payment of $50,000 from the year before the club’s first premiership in 2016.

It leaves Cronulla fighting an uphill battle to convince Holmes to stay.

“The key point here guys is Valentine Holmes,” Ritchie said.

“If they (the NRL) in fact do what they did to Manly and reduce their cap for next year and the year after, will that impact on Valentine Holmes? They’re desperate to keep him and we all know the Cowboys have made a massive offer for Valentine Holmes. Val Holmes is the key element in the whole story at the moment because it could cost them his signature.”

It comes after Kent on Wednesday told Triple M’s Grill Team the NRL suspects Cronulla paid players outside the cap by organising for a club employee to pay players directly from an inflated personal salary.

“It appears payments were made to someone at the club who was essentially overpaid and then the money he was paid was then passed directly onto the player,” Kent said.

“That’s the NRL’s understanding of what’s happened. That’s still being determined.

“What they don’t know is that there are thousands of documents and they don’t know if there’s anything in these documents that shows they’re not compliant for 2018.”

Both the Sharks and the league were insistent there were no concerns over any breaches for this season less than two weeks out from Cronulla entering the playoffs.

“This is a historical issue, we are currently salary cap compliant for the 2018 season having passed our mid-season salary cap review,” the Sharks said in a statement.

“The Sharks self-reported to the NRL and asked for their assistance in investigating this matter.

“The club is fully co-operating with the NRL Integrity Unit, allowing them access to any information they require to complete their investigation.

“The discrepancies occurred under previous club management.”

Crucially, the club won its maiden premiership in 2016 but it’s not believed the initial breaches are bad enough to threaten that.

However, the club has faced a battle since then to retain a number of their grand-final winning stars as they feel the pinch of their rising values.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the NRL also confirmed the Sharks had asked the integrity unit to make the inquiries.

“Those inquiries are ongoing so we are not in a position to comment further at this stage,” he said.

“However, based on the information available, the Sharks and all other clubs are salary cap compliant for 2018.”

— with AAP