Benik Afobe had a Wolves buyout clause

Striker Benik Afobe had a buyout clause in his Wolves contract that could have led to him leaving on the cheap next summer, the Express & Star understands.

The clause would have been activated had Wolves – who rejected the claim there was one – not won promotion to the Premier League this season.

With that promotion looking unlikely, the club's hand was forced and they had little choice but to sell him for the £10million they received from Bournemouth.

The buyout figure is thought to have been considerably lower than what the Cherries paid for the star striker.

It is also believed that Arsenal received 10 per cent of the £10m fee from a sell-on clause inserted into Afobe's contract when he moved to Molineux last January.

The transfer still represents great business for a player they signed for just £2m a year ago.

They rejected a £10m offer from Norwich last summer and issued a defiant statement saying Afobe wouldn't be sold this season.

However, faced the prospect of not winning promotion, they could not risk losing Afobe for a considerably smaller sum and so accepted Bournemouth's bid at the end of last week.

Meanwhile, the search for Afobe's replacement has intensified.

With Bjorn Sigurdarson out for a week, Adam Le Fondre remains their only available recognised senior striker, and he will be ineligible to face parent club Cardiff on Saturday.

Boss Kenny Jackett didn't rule out bringing someone in before then and said he had a direct replacement in mind.

Names in the frame include Peterborough hotshot Conor Washington, who has scored 13 goals in his last 14 matches.

Hibernian striker Jason Cummings, Walsall's Tom Bradshaw and long-time target Nakhi Wells, of Huddersfield, are also on their radar.

Bolton starlet Zach Clough, who is available for around £3m, is expected to move to Bristol City.