Salford coach Ian Watson has been thrilled by the progress of Morgan Escaré in the club’s first week of training.
The Frenchman, a new signing for 2021, has linked up with the Red Devils’ squad for training to help him settle into the club ahead of next year.
Escaré could yet play this year, though that is almost certainly dependent on Castleford making an early move for Salford’s current fullback Niall Evalds, who is joining the Tigers next year.
There is currently no agreement in place for that to happen and Salford expect to have Evalds for the rest of the season. However, both he and Escaré have slotted in at fullback during training, and Watson has been delighted with what he’s seen.
“He’s been really, really good,” Watson said.
“He looks really sharp, he’s picking things up really quickly. He’s currently learning our new structures and attack and we’re doing a fair bit of video with him. It’s a new challenge for him and we’re spending time with him and Andy Ackers to get them on board with the way we play.
“We’ve been running with them both (Evalds and Escaré) at training, and Morgan is trying to learn a helluva lot in a short space of time. There’s also a language barrier to work with when it comes to plays and calls, but he is picking it up a lot faster than I thought he would do and he’s fitted into our attack and the transition has been seamless, so I’m really happy to be fair.”
Meanwhile, Watson confirmed it was highly unlikely the club would recruit new players for the rest of the season.
Toronto’s withdrawal and the cancellation of the Championship season has meant a lot of players are potentially available, but Watson does not anticipate any business.
“We’ve just had to negotiate pay cuts with our players and to bring someone in and pay them would be wrong, I think, so I don’t expect us to do anything.”
