SALISBURY City would have jumped at the chance to take cult strike hero Paul Sales back to the Raymond McEnill Stadium.
But assistant Whites' boss Tommy Killick reckons Eastleigh's financial muscle makes it nigh on impossible for other local clubs to compete.
Sales, whose five-figure transfer to Eastleigh is due to be completed any day now, spent four successful seasons at Salisbury before moving back to Bashley for £5,000 in February last year.
The circumstances of his departure made him unpopular among a small section of the Wiltshire club, but most City fans remember him for the quantity and outstanding quality of the goals he scored.
City director Neville Beal is one of Sales's greatest fans and Killick revealed: "First and foremost, Nev's a Salisbury supporter and he' s a big admirer of Paul's.
"If Paul had been available at a realistic price we would have gone in for him, but as soon as Eastleigh express an interest, you may as well forget it. It's not worth anyone else bothering because no one can come even close to what they're offering.
"Eastleigh have so much financial clout that if they want someone, they sign him, no arguments. The rest of us just have to accept that."
Eastleigh, whose £10,000 purchase of goalkeeper Colin Matthews set the trend for some big-money signings at Ten Acres last season, have been splashing out again this summer as they prepare for their debut Southern League season.
Their latest spree includes ex-Saints defender Chris Collins, who has joined for an undisclosed fee from Woking and signed a four-year contract, and Salisbury's tenacious wing-back Tyronne Bowers, whose contract had expired at Old Sarum.
Like Sales, Bowers was a Salisbury crowd pleaser, but he too found the lure of Eastleigh too good to resist.
Killick said: "I've no axe to grind with either Eastleigh or Tyronne, but I am sorry he's left us. I like Tyronne both as a person and player and I, for one, loved watching him play and having him around."
With Bowers departing, City have awarded a contract to the versatile Steve Strong, who joined late last season from Lymington & New Milton along with striker Leigh Phillips.
Phillips, notably, has not been given a contract, sparking interest from Bournemouth Poppies, Wimborne and Newport IoW.
Killick said: "Having lost Tyronne we were thin on the ground for wide players and it was important we tied Strongy down.
"Leigh took more time getting used to the step up. By his own admission, he needs to get fitter and we hope he'll do that by coming back for pre-season."
Salisbury are still negotiating with last season's top scorer Adam Wallace and out-of-contract midfielder Gary Funnell. They are also keeping tabs on Weymouth's former Bashley hitman Michael Jackson and wide player Chris Hughes, who has been released by Swindon Town.
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