Wolves flop Roger Johnson takes big pay cut to join Sheffield Wednesday

Wolves flop Roger Johnson has taken a sizeable pay cut to join Sheffield Wednesday, it emerged this afternoon.

moreThe £4m misfit's three-month loan to Hillsborough was set to go through today to sever the Molineux ties of arguably the most toxic player associated with the club's dramatic decline.

And it emerged that not only are Wednesday understood to be paying Johnson's wages, but that he has had to lose a chunk of his £20,000-a-week-plus salary to make the move happen.

In recent weeks Wolves have turned down two previous loan propositions for Johnson from Wednesday, whose former Molineux boss Dave Jones managed him at Cardiff, because it wasn't right for the club.

Negotiations have been ongoing since well before the transfer window shut on September 2.

The news comes as Kenny Jackett today insisted Wolves' young guns have ignored the Johnson saga to focus on putting the club first. Looking ahead to tomorrow's visit of Swindon, head coach Jackett is confident Johnson's presence hasn't affected the players he leaves behind.

"I don't think this particular transfer will change the mindset of the players because the mindset of those playing has been good and focused," said Jackett.

"I don't know whether it was that (Johnson's exile) or Danny Batth was empowered by playing right-sided centre-half.

"Whether that's just helped Danny, Richard Stearman, Matt Doherty and Sam Ricketts focus, I don't know.

"But they've been well-focused and concentrated on trying to put a bit back into the club and put the club first, which is important.

"While Roger was an ex-club captain, the mindset of the group hasn't been distracted. Johnson being here hasn't really affected my thinking nor those playing, and that's good."

Johnson's move ends an unhappy chapter for the 30-year-old former Blues defender, who was one of four players transfer-listed in June and has been forced to train with trialists and the under-21s to the extent where Jackett had him arriving at different times to the first-team squad.