St Helens boss responds to Deon Cross links with admission made over 20-man squad

St Helens head coach Paul Wellens has responded to reports linking the Red Vee with Salford Red Devils outside-back Deon Cross.

Cross is a St Helens native but spent all of his Super League career with Salford Red Devils, signing with them in 2022 after spells at Widnes, Barrow, and Rochdale – the team he debuted for.

Despite never playing for the club as a senior, the 28-year-old was part of the St Helens scholarship programme but was released in his teens before earning his move to Rochdale Hornets.

Cross has been subject to numerous reports linking him with a move away from Salford this season with Hull FC one of the teams named initially, however, the latest reports from All Out Rugby League revealed the Red Vee had ‘approached’ Salford in an effort to get a deal over the line.

That was chief among the things that St Helens boss Paul Wellens was asked about when speaking in his weekly presser, ahead of Friday night’s game against Wakefield Trinity.

St Helens naming just a 20-man squad for that game had seen some connect the dots that Cross was set for an immediate move but Paul Wellens has batted back any transfer talks.

St Helens boss responds to Deon Cross links with admission made over 20-man squad

Asked about the links to the Salford man, Wellens said:  “Well, we’re always looking to make a good effort to improve our squad, that’s for sure.

“Obviously, Deon’s a Salford player, obviously he’s a good player, he’s someone who we have known for a long time as he’s a St Helens lad, but at this stage there’s nothing to say.”

The St Helens boss was also asked about the 20-man squad, something he confirmed was simply down to the current ‘squad health’, before being asked if there was a chance that either an internal or external addition would be made.

To that point, the Saints boss said: “That doesn’t seem a likely option at this moment in time, so the 20 man squad we’ve got is the 20 man squad and I’m happy with that 20 man squad.

“It’s a strong team who can go out there and respond to what was a disappointing result for us on the weekend and that’s what we’re looking for, a strong response.”

Saints boss gives Ben Davies verdict

In fact, it would seem more likely that there could be a player exiting St Helens rather then one being signed with Wellens asked about Ben Davies, who was not named in the squad this week.

Davies was sent to Castleford Tigers on loan earlier in the season before returning to St Helens with Tigers boss Danny McGuire effectively ending the loan early.

Speaking about Davies, Wellens said: “Like I’ve said in previous weeks with Benny, first and foremost he’s a fantastic young man who works really hard, trains really hard, and I can’t ask anything more of him in that respect but his opportunities here are limited at this moment in time.

“We’ve been open and honest with him as a club, if he can get playing opportunities elsewhere, then we would support him in that, because the age he’s at and where he’s at in his career, he needs to be playing and playing regularly.”

It’s currently unclear where those opportunities would present themselves for the 24-year-old, who has played just 42 Super League games but not represented St Helens in the competition since August last year.