Premier League clubs who have furloughed staff or cut players’ wages should be subjected to a transfer ban this summer, according to Gary Neville.

Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United are among the high-profile clubs to have taken the controversial decision to utilise the government’s job retention scheme, despite being profitable and owned by billionaires.

Liverpool abandoned plans to furlough almost 60 per cent of non-playing staff, five weeks after posting pre-tax profits of £42 million, after an outcry from former players and supporters.

Bournemouth, Norwich and Sheffield United have also furloughed some non-playing staff.

The scheme enables businesses to claim 80 per cent of staff wages, up to £2,500 a month, during the coronavirus crisis.

Many top flight clubs are in talks with players about wages deferrals and cuts after Premier League sides voted unanimously for 30 per cent salary reductions. Southampton and West Ham are the only Premier League clubs to reach deferral agreements with players so far.

But Neville believes it would be wrong for any clubs who are pleading poverty to then exploit any reductions in costs by splashing out millions in the transfer market.

And the former Manchester United captain believes clubs who furlough staff and cut wages should be placed under a transfer embargo this summer to prevent such a scenario from materialising.