Wolves make 'firm offer' for Burnley star as West Brom hope for transfer bidding war

According to Johnny Phillips, a broadcast journalist for Sky Sports, and a columnist for the Express & Star, a 'firm offer' has now been made to Burnley as they consolidate their interest. A centre-back is the priority for Gary O'Neil according to Phillips, and he added that the reports of Wolves being limited to spending £20m this window can allow them to downplay the numbers to any club.

First and foremost Wolves need a centre-back but their Black Country rivals West Brom will also have their eye on what happens with O’Shea. Wolves aren’t the only team chasing O’Shea with Brentford reportedly keen to sign the Republic of Ireland international. Ipswich Town had also reportedly been interested, but according to TWTD, that is not the case.

Nevertheless, a bidding war between Brentford and Wolves for O’Shea would benefit West Brom, as they apparently have a sell-on-clause for O’Shea. Last summer, the Baggies sold O’Shea for less than the reported £8m buy-out-clause due to financial difficulties, but there was a clause inserted. West Brom transfer insider EyaWeGew revealed that any deal over £7m will see them pocket 20% of the profit of any sale.

Despite being relegated with the Clarets, O'Shea has just come off the back of a campaign where he played 33 times in the Premier League. He is a regular starter for the Ireland national team, and has started the two opening games of the Championship season under Scott Parker.

The 25-year-old is under contract at Turf Moor until 2027 and so the Lancashire club would be well within their rights to ask for more than the £7m they paid for O’Shea last summer. Any money from the sale would go towards helping the day-to-day running of West Brom with the club currently working with the EFL over a proposed business plan.

As for Wolves, despite already selling Max Kilman this summer, they could also allow Santiago Bueno to leave if they can land O'Shea according to Express & Star journalist Liam Keen. The 25-year-old was an unused substitute in the 2-0 defeat to Arsenal at the weekend with Toti Gomes and Yerson Mosquera the preferred centre-back partnership.