Crystal Palace are facing a race against time to pay their wages and prevent a possible mass exodus of players.
The cash-strapped club failed to give players their monthly salaries when they were due on 30 November, with owner Simon Jordan blaming a cash-flow problem for the delay. Under the standard terms of a Football League playing contract, wages must be paid within 14 days of the date stipulated.
That gives Palace until Monday to pay up otherwise they would effectively be in breach of contract. The unpaid players would then be free to negotiate moves before next month's transfer window opens, subject to approval from the Football League.
Highly-rated youngsters such as Victor Moses, Nathaniel Clyne and Sean Scannell would all be likely to command seven-figure fees were they to be sold in January and losing them for nothing would be a huge blow to the club.
Palace insist players are understanding of what they view as a short-term problem and expect all outstanding money to be paid on Thursday. It is understood that stewards, who were also asked to accept a slight delay in payment, have now been paid in full, as have the club's administrative staff.
But many of the squad were also not paid October's wages on time and there must be doubts over how long they will co-operate with the club if the problems continue.
"This is an unusual case and shows how serious the situation is at Palace," said Chris Syder, partner head of employment at legal firm Davies Arnold Cooper. "Not being paid is a serious breach but I expect the players to work with the club, provided the arrears are paid."
