Friday 27 October 2017 23:43, UK
Sale director of rugby Steve Diamond has dismissed the notion that Marland Yarde will be joining the club after the winger has been linked with an immediate move there.
Yarde was dropped for disciplinary reasons by Harlequins before last weekend's 41-10 defeat to Wasps in the European Rugby Champions Cup and Diamond insisted that there is no truth in the reports that the winger will swap London for Salford.
"We're not allowed to speak to players before January 1, that's a principle we stick to," said Diamond.
"Maybe you should ring those players up yourselves and speak to them? There's no done deal.
"The priorities are a lock and a centre and we're not having any joy at the minute with the quality that we're looking for."
On Friday night against the Chiefs, the hosts struggled to control possession and territory but fought back in the final five minutes and set up an opportunity to win the game.
However, Exeter eventually snuffed out the attack when they were awarded a penalty, a decision which irked the Sale boss.
"He [referee Craig Maxwell-Keys] made it up," added Diamond.
"The other 60 or 70 rucks should have been penalised if that's a penalty. When you're at the top of the league and you're a good side like they are, they get those decisions.
"If you've got somebody that's weak-minded occasionally, and it looked like that in the last two or three minutes, those people tend to give those decisions to what is perceived to be the stronger team."
It was a missed opportunity for the Sharks who were facing an Exeter team that were coming into the game following a five-day turnaround.
According to director of rugby Rob Baxter, they did just 25 minutes on-field training and the Chiefs boss was delighted to come away with the victory.
"It was just about the points today," Baxter said.
"It feels a little odd to not talk about performance but we didn't discuss the performance in the changing room. Most of them are going on a 10-day break now.
"The last couple of weeks have, in particular, been a real emotional battle for us and we saw the dregs of that today. There was no way it was a vintage Exeter performance.
"Obviously, Sale have contributed to that as well but I actually thought there was only 10 or 15 minutes in the second half where we looked like the Exeter I watch on a regular basis."
