Owls put Wood on transfer list

Laws disappointed by defender's decision to reject new deal

Last updated: 29th October 2009   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Owls put Wood on transfer list

Wood: Transfer listed

Related links

Teams

Players

Also see

Sheffield Wednesday have put Richard Wood on the transfer list after the defender turned down a new contract at Hillsborough.

Wood's deal expires at the end of the season and Owls boss Brian Laws is unhappy with the demands being made by the 24-year-old.

Laws rejected a transfer request from Wood over 12 months ago before persuading the home-grown stopper to sign a new contract.

However, Laws is now keen to ship Wood out of the club as soon as possible, with Coventry City and Ipswich Town having previously shown an interest.

Very disappointing

"It is very disappointing to be in this situation, but Richard Wood is going to be put on the transfer list," Laws told the club's official website.

"We have been talking to him about a new contract for months now, but Richard and his agent believe he should be the highest-paid player at this football club.

"The gap in negotiations cannot be bridged because Richard is demanding an amount that we cannot justify paying. His opinion is that if he cannot get the wage he wants from Sheffield Wednesday he will go somewhere else.

"Richard and his agent have asked for something that they know we can't pay, so I am very disappointed in a player who has previously told me he wants to be at this football club. We have made him an excellent offer and I am staggered that we are at this point.

"There would be no merit in us trying to drag this situation out until the January transfer window, so I have decided to transfer list Richard now so we can draw a line under the situation.

"I don't want any players at this football club who do not want to be here and if there is a club that want to take Richard on loan with a view to a permanent move in January then we would welcome that."