Staggering Josh Brownhill update shows Leicester City, Southampton & Ipswich Town never had a chance | OneFootball

The former Burnley midfielder is bound for the Saudi Pro League on a huge salary

The ever-growing finances in football have become a major talking point in recent years, with certain clubs able to completely blow others out of the water when it comes to resources in this particular field.

Ironically, it has become a hot topic of discussion in English football as all the last six sides promoted from the Championship have failed to survive in the Premier League whilst still being streets ahead of several clubs in the second-tier after benefitting from the well-documented 'parachute payments' scheme.

Ipswich Town, Leicester City and Southampton are the clubs receiving those payments in the second-tier after their returns to the top-flight lasted for one campaign, although they all hope that their stay back in the EFL is equally as short for completely contrasting reasons.

Unsurprisingly, the newly-relegated trio have been tipped by many to challenge for automatic promotion under Kieran McKenna, Marti Cifuentes and Will Still, although the Foxes have made the strongest start out of the respective clubs with three wins out of a possible four despite a huge cloud of uncertainty hanging over the club due to suspected financial breaches.

As a result, the East Midlands side have had to be rather savvy in the market compared to the Tractor Boys and the Saints. However, a staggering revelation has now showcased that all three clubs never stood a chance in the race to land Josh Brownhill's signature following his exit from Burnley.

Josh Brownhill would have been a stunning acquisition for Ipswich Town, Leicester City or Southampton

Over the past decade, Brownhill has asserted himself as one of the best central midfielders to feature in the Championship, having also enjoyed multiple seasons of Premier League football during said timeframe.

After initially making a name for himself at Preston North End and Bristol City, the Warrington-born midfielder was given his first avenue into the Premier League at Turf Moor with a £9m switch to Ashton Gate in January 2020 and he never looked back.

Despite the club's return to the Championship and mixed fortunes which have followed since under Vincent Kompany and Scott Parker, Brownhill remained an integral part of the side under the former Manchester City defender and the current Clarets boss.

Interest in his services was, unsurprisingly, rife last summer following a second relegation from the top-flight in three seasons, and that continued through Burnley's promotion-winning season in which Brownhill scored 18 times and posted six assists in 42 league appearances.

Despite the Clarets' best efforts to retain their star performer who, as per Capology - a site which ESTIMATES player earnings - was taking home a weekly salary equal to £45,497 per week, the midfielder would depart after five-and-a-half years at the club in order to pursue a new challenge.

And, although Leicester, Ipswich and Southampton had all swapped places with Burnley, alongside Leeds United and Sunderland, all three clubs were credited with interest by James Savundra of Sky Sports in the summer transfer window's final days. However, it has now been made evident that there was only one clear winner in the race for his signature.

Josh Brownhill set for significant pay rise as Saudi Pro League beckons

That's because, in a fresh development over the midfielder's potential whereabouts by the time the window in the UK slammed shut, Brownhill has agreed a move to Saudi Pro League outfit, Al-Shabab.

With the Middle Eastern league looking to continue growing after attracting superstar names such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Sadio Mane, Fabinho and Karim Benzema, his soon-to-be employers have placed an offer which will see him collect over £100,000 per week, with the former Manchester United youngster set to complete his medical on Friday.

As previously stated, all three sides that were relegated from the Premier League and looked to bolster their midfield departments with a stunning move for Brownhill, would likely be able to fend off interest from divisional rivals as they have the three ESTIMATED highest wage bills in the division.

This is yet another example of how clubs cannot compete with the riches of the Middle East, regardless of the fact Al-Shabab finished sixth last season, some 23 points behind champions, Al-Ittihad.