BURY could stand to collect a vital windfall if Paul Butler leaves Sunderland for Wanderers or their First Division rivals Wolves.

The Shakers inserted a 15 per cent sell-on clause in the transfer contract when they sold Butler to Sunderland and that could pay dividends because Butler has fallen out of favour with Peter Reid and looks set to leave Stadium of Light.

The 28-year-old central defender - whose partnership with Chris Lucketti at the heart of Bury's defence propelled the Shakers from the Third to the First Division under Stan Ternent - has joined Wolves on a month's loan, with a view to the transfer being made permanent.

He is believed to be valued by Sunderland at £1.2m which will give Bury £180,000.

With the Shakers in dire financial trouble, money like that is a godsend.

"We rely on money like that coming in," admitted chairman Terry Robinson. "Money from the Chris Lucketti and Dean Kiely transfers is still coming in and that has helped keep us going.

"If Paul Butler goes it would give us extra cash and would be a real help to make up the shortfall between gate receipts and the club's wage bill."

Butler started his career at Rochdale where he made 158 appearances, scoring 10 goals, before joining Bury in the summer off 1996 for a fee of £130,000.

He played for Bury 84 times, scoring 4 goals, and was a regular in a side which must go down as one of the best in Bury's history.

He left for Sunderland for £600,000 in July 1998 but not before perhaps his finest moment - scoring the winner in the Shakers famous 1-0 triumph at Manchester City at Maine Road which helped Bury stay up and saw the Blues relegated to the Second Division.

If Wolves opt out of signing Butler, the Shakers shouldn't worry too much. Bolton Wanderers boss Sam Allardyce is known to be a keen admirer of the centre-back and is likely to step in with a £1m plus bid.