The main reason why Brighton players have not yet agreed to pay cuts

The Brighton hierarchy are in ongoing discussions with club captain Lewis Dunk and veteran striker Glenn Murray, who are acting as representatives for the first team squad.

Chief executive Paul Barber had hoped to resolve the situation soon after the Easter weekend but as yet no agreement has been reached or made public.

Albion's top three earners from the non-playing staff Barber, technical director Dan Ashworth and head coach Graham Potter have already taken "significant" pay cuts.

All Albion's first team playing squad remain on full pay and were given time off until May 1.

The club said they have been "open and transparent" with the players regarding the finances and their predicted losses, due to the suspension of the league.

Despite the seriousness of the club's financial situation, Barber has not given the players a deadline to respond.

"What I’ve said to Glenn and Lewis is only come back to me when you are ready and you have had enough time to consult," said Barber.

"Then, in an ideal world, what you would have is the squad coming together as a group and wanting to do x or y or z. That takes a little bit more time than a lot of people would realise.

"I’m being patient, Tony is being patient, because we’ve realised it’s not as simple as getting one person to say this or that. We need 25 people to agree to a common position, ideally.

"We may not get there. We may not get 25 people to agree to a common position. We might get 10 or 12 or 15. But either way we want to give the maximum amount of time to get to an ideal position, which would be our whole squad aligned on doing whatever they want to do, together. That would be our ideal position."

Elsewhere, Arsenal players agreed a 12.5 per cent cut and Chelsea are set for a 10 per cent decrease.

Southampton and West Ham confirmed earlier this month that their players would defer a percentage of their salaries because of the coronavirus pandemic.

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