Salford Red Devils and Huddersfield Giants are at a stalemate over Salford forward Luke Yates.
Ian Watson is keen to reunite with the Australian following his move to the Giants and the two clubs have held talks to try and negotiate a deal.
But they cannot agree on a transfer fee, with Salford holding out for a larger sum than the Giants have so far offered to let their star forward move on.
Yates, who joined the Red Devils from London for the 2020 season, signed a new deal with the club earlier this year, keeping him contracted until the end of 2022.
League Express understands that Yates is open to making the move to the John Smith’s Stadium but Salford will only sell for the right price.
As it stands, a deal hasn’t been reached and Yates will remain at Salford for the time being.
That said, the Giants, who have already signed Joe Greenwood from Wigan and Jack Cogger from Canterbury Bulldogs since Watson’s move to the club, remain determined to land their man.
Huddersfield have several quota spots available and Watson has put Yates at the top of his priority list.
Salford, who are already in the market for middle forwards, would have to find another forward to recruit should they lose Yates, and would enter a market with limited availability, with a number of clubs across the competition already trying to land overseas props.
The likes of Catalans, Leeds and Wakefield are also shopping in the same market.
Talks are set to continue between the Giants and Red Devils leading into Christmas.
The Red Devils confirmed another two new signings last week, with Harvey Livett and Matty Costello both joining the club from Warrington and St Helens respectively.
Danny Orr was also named the club’s new assistant coach to work alongside Richard Marshall. Paul Rowley will also remain at the club in a coaching consultancy role.
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