Salford consortium locks in deal with new coach and players as part-time move confirmed

Former Salford Red Devils winger Mason Caton-Brown has revealed his consortium that are looking to acquire the club’s playing licence have already agreed terms with a potential coach and a number of players.

Three consortia officially submitted information on Thursday to try and be the group that will take the Red Devils forward going into 2026 following their descent into liquidation earlier this month.

One is headed up by Caton-Brown and has financial backing from a number of key individuals in the Salford area. Malcolm Crompton, the former chairman of the Forever Reds Supporters Trust, is one of those – with businessman Paul Hancock and Ashley Washington also involved.

That consortium – named The Phoenix Bid – has already secured six-figure investment and believe they are the best candidates to take the club into the Championship next year.

And Caton-Brown has now lifted the lid on some of the plans should they be successful while speaking to BBC Radio Manchester.

“Our vision is simple really and that’s to build a sustainable future for Salford. What’s happened in the past has been a complete nightmare so me and my group of people have got involved and want to build a sustainable future and ensure it doesn’t ruin the 152 years of history.

“We’re not coming into this to make money or a profit. We want to build this club sustainably so it’s preserved and to protect the club and the community. This would be a massive loss for the community but we’re not coming to make a profit.”

Crucially, any successful bid would have just over four weeks to get a playing group together and make the start line against Oldham in mid-January.

But Caton-Brown insists he is not concerned by that and believes the Red Devils will be ready to go if their bid wins, given how they have already spoken to a head coach and a number of players.

He revealed: “We’ve already got pre-agreements with some players and should we get this bid successful then we can make them concrete agreements with the players and we’re really confident that we can get a full squad out for our first game.

“We’ve got a coach lined up and he’s really really enthusiastic and ready to go. He’s been working and trying to talk to players as well. If we get this bid and once we’re concrete then we can start releasing names and everything.”