If true, I think it's a shrewd move bringing Sheaf in on a loan with an option to buy. It's been well documented that the EFL have implemented a salary cap for all their League One and Two, with League One in particular being restricted to a fixed £2.5m spend on bonuses, wages, agent fees and other moneys paid to players. Focusing on League One, this is in place of the SCMP regulations that governed (or rather attempted to govern) financial sustainability and longevity of all members within the league). Given that our wage bill is likely to be considerably higher than last year's, I presume we are now subsequently exceeding this cap quite considerably - and in the event of CCFC dropping back down into League One (hopefully not), it's not improbable to suggest that we would still likely be far above the £2.5m threshold.
So, could it be that Robins and the backroom staff are simply thinking ahead, just in case we do in fact find ourselves in a relegation spot come the end of the season. I can't imagine that Sheaf is on small wages so it makes sense to structure the deal as a loan, with an option to buy just in case affordability becomes difficult in the event we are relegated - especially we cannot move him on for whatever reason. After all every transfer comes with its risk. Sheaf could rupture his ACL in true CCFC fashion or his form might plummet as we saw from signings such as Ogogo. Then we're inevitably stuck with his wages for the foreseeable. Hence why I believe this to be a wise move from the club.
Personally I cannot see this particular deal being made to avoid the current P&S (profit and sustainability rules) implemented in the Championship. To my knowledge the current rules state that each club is not permitted to lose over £13m per season over four years - (it used to be three but it has recently changed to four). It's highly doubtful that even in the current situation we're losing that much and regardless,
clubs will now be reporting on a four-year period that covers 2017/18-2020/21 instead of the three years that cover 2017/18-2019/20. The club's accounts have shown that we're definitely not losing that much, so for that particular scenario we're in the clear.
Apologies for the 'essay', just my little speculative take on it!