Peterborough United chief is expecting a quiet transfer window for all lower league clubs including his own

Fry, the man who conducts most of the transfer negotiations at the Weston Homes Stadium, believes the salary cap rules will limit the amount of business done.

He includes the likes of Sunderland and Charlton Athletic in that, two of the biggest League One clubs who are now under new ownership and with the funds to finance a concerted promotion push.

Fry believes Posh will only sign new players if they lose a first-team squad player. Forward Siriki Dembele is the player attracting most interest, even though his form collapsed in the last couple of months of 2020.

“The salary cap makes things more difficult for everyone,” Fry said. “You can bid £1 million for a player and have it accepted, but you then have to fit his wages, his agent’s fee, a signing on fee and his bonuses into the salary cap and I suspect most clubs are already close to the maximum they are allowed to spend.

“Clubs like Sunderland also have the problem of off-loading players who are currently on good money. It won’t be easy to shift those players on to make room for any new signings.

“I read somewhere that there were 1,472 players without a club at the end of last season and that there are still over a thousand of them looking for clubs.

“It’s a very sad situation and one that is only to get worse.

“I don’t expect us to do a lot of business unless we lose a player. We have had loan enquiries for players who are not regulars in the matchday squad, but it’s up to the manager if he wants to let them go.”

Dembele has been linked with Celtic, Rangers, Nottingham Forest, Sheffield Wednesday, Sheffield United and Newcastle United in recent weeks, but he under contract at Posh for another 18 months so Posh have no immediate need to sell.

The salary cap limit in League One is currently £2.5 million per season.