MARK Davies is set to seal his move to Sheffield Wednesday – and could be leaving the Macron Stadium on a free.
The midfielder’s move to Hillsborough had been stalled by a disagreement on his severance package at Wanderers, and personal terms with the Owls.
By Monday the 27-year-old's representatives were looking elsewhere in the Championship and had sounded out Fulham, despite the London club being in a transfer embargo.
But a breakthrough was made during Tuesday night’s 3-2 defeat at Wednesday which saw Wanderers pay off part of his outstanding contract to facilitate the move to the Owls.
Fulham were looking to do the same but now look set to miss out.
Wanderers will make a considerable saving on Davies’s wages.
The player had 18 months remaining on his contract, which was worth around £1.2million plus bonuses.
The former Wolves playmaker was signed for £1m in January 2009 and is the club’s longest serving senior player.
The BBC are also reporting that Wanderers have made a complaint to the Football League about Wednesday's conduct in the matter.
It is understood the Owls requested that Davies did not play in Tuesday night's 3-2 defeat at Hillsborough but then indicated they were prepared to pull out of the deal, prompting the Whites to seek advice.
The deal now appears to be back on track, however, so further issues are unlikely to emerge.
Meanwhile, Zach Clough’s move to Bristol City now appears unlikely – with suggestion that Steve Cotterill has pulled the plug on the deal.
Wanderers publicly accepted a £2m offer for the highly-rated striker, which would have climbed to £3m based on appearances and other bonuses.
That scenario put pressure on Clough to make the move and free up some cash for the Whites to pay the bills.
The Robins also offered the 20-year-old a lucrative three-year contract which would have hugely eclipsed his current earnings at the Macron Stadium.
But Clough wanted to stay and fight for the club he has represented since the age of eight and now looks set to face Nottingham Forest on Saturday after only making the bench on Tuesday night because of a hip injury.
Neil Lennon is looking forward to sorting out some of the transfer mess after feeling he has been left in the dark over his players’ future.
“It’s becoming farcical because there is no information,” he told The Bolton News. “We’ve lost Mark Davies for the last two games. I don’t know if a deal has been done or not.
“He could have been playing for me and I can’t afford to lose that quality of player.
“It could be the same with Zach – he’s been down to Bristol for talks and nothing has happened. It’s becoming a pain in the neck, to tell the truth.
“You don’t know what team you are picking from one game to the next.”
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