Salford Red Devils man Kallum Watkins is reportedly set to leave the club and now their coach has responded to those reports.
Watkins is one of the Red Devils senior players but he allegedly refused to play in Round Six of Super League when Salford faced off against Wigan Warriors.
Leeds Rhinos then reached out to try and make a move for their former star but the reports cooled down after Watkins played for the Red Devils on Friday night in their Challenge Cup loss to Catalans Dragons.
Despite that, fresh reports suggest that a deal could be done this week with Leeds Rhinos set to try and pry back the England international, a transfer that could happen in the same week the two teams face each other.
It’s actually the second time the teams will play this season with Watkins opening the scoring in Round Two in a game the Red Devils would lose 32-6. When previewing this Thursday’s game, assistant coach Krisnan Inu was asked about the prospect of Watkins leaving the club – something he denied any knowledge of.
Salford Red Devils coach responds to Kallum Watkins exit report ahead of Leeds Rhinos clash
When asked about Watkins possibly departing, Inu said: “I’m not too sure about that. I haven’t really touched base on Kal at this moment.
“I was just speaking to a journalist and I’m getting a bit of that info off him because apparently he knows more than me so maybe you can ask them.”
Despite Inu not having knowledge of a possible Watkins exit, he admitted that it would be a major blow if it eventuated, stating: “It would be a blow for any team if you lose your captain, especially Kallum Watkins.
“He’s been a great leader for us. He always leads the way in his actions. He’s a man of few words but he leads by example. He’d be a blow to any team that lose him.”
Should Watkins leave then he would be the fourth player to depart after Marc Sneyd, Brad Singleton and Tim Lafai and when asked about how difficult his job is made by the changing nature of the squad, Inu was able to crack a joke.
“Yeah, definitely. There’ll be no one to coach, so we’ll be out of a job,” he joked.
“For us, we’re just doing our best, and the boys that are here, that turn up every week, we’re grateful for the people that we have around us that are here to play, so we’ll do our best and do our job with who’s here.”
The Salford assistant was also quizzed on Saia Kailahi, reported to be a childhood friend who is involved in the takeover, and Inu’s verdict on the music promoter was blunt.
“He’s a big man, smells good, speaks well, and yeah, he’s here to support the club.”
Anonymous
April 8, 2025 at 2:29 pm
This deal for Salford stadium will never go through; it’s time the RFL took some action and shut Salford RL down and kicked them out of the competition and stopped embarrassing the rest of the Rugby League community.
It’s a great shame to all the hard working staff, players and fans of Salford RL but even a blind man can see all these “new owners” and local council are interested in, are the property deals surrounding the stadium.