Roger Johnson heads for Wolves exit

Roger Johnson and Wolves are ready to part company this summer after a disastrous 10 months together.

Wolves are bracing themselves to take a hit on their £4.5m valuation of the highest-paid player in club history in the knowledge that he has become their most toxic asset.

Johnson's Wolves career appears to be over less than a year after it started after a disastrous campaign for player and club which culminated in relegation and saw his relationship with several players become strained.

Any sympathy for Johnson's struggle to assert himself as key defender and captain evaporated after he turned up for training showing the effects of alcohol on March 5.

The final straw came with Sunday's scenes at Wigan when Johnson was abused by fans as he warmed up, then clapped the Wigan supporters cheering him, while he failed to appear as the players said their farewells to the away end.

All that convinced the club there is no way back for him.

But Wolves will not allow the centre-back, who cost £4.5m when he moved from Birmingham, to leave on a temporary basis to a rival Championship club after reports that Sheffield Wednesday, whose former Wolves boss Dave Jones managed Johnson at Cardiff, wanted to take the 28-year-old on a season-long loan.

Johnson is understood to be one of the few players whose contracts do not contain a relegation clause, which means he will continue as the club's top earner on around £40,000-a-week, despite the drop to the Championship, if a buyer can't be found.

Wolves face a £30m drop in revenue for losing their Premier League place, and paying such inflated wages will place a severe drain on their resources if he stays.

But it is understood Wolves want to recoup as much of their outlay as possible. So far, Norwich are the only Premier League club linked with a move for the defender, who failed to figure in the final seven games of the season and has three years left on his deal.