Report: Absurd demands stall Villa move for midfielder

Wolves midfielder Bakary Sako has been garnering interest from both Aston Villa and West Bromwich Albion in the past weeks. It makes sense, too, since the 27-year-old winger has amassed 37 goals and 33 assists in 123 matches with the Championship side. But the Malian international is apparently demanding wages of £50,000 from whatever club he ends up at, and that number may be enough to scuttle a move.

Sako has shown his skill both in the Championship and in Ligue 1 with Saint-Étienne, but he's never played a minute in the Premier League. To put the wage demands into perspective, at the beginning of the season Stephane Sessegnon was the highest-paid player for the Baggies at £50,000 per week and at Villa Darren Bent was still enjoying the fruits of being one of the best strikers in England (back in 2011) with £65,000 per week.

While Sako is undoubtedly a fine player, if he is to move to a club where he would feature regularly (like Villa or West Brom) he'll need to come to Earth on those wage demands. He has the potential to be a very important player at either club, but given what other players on those squads are making he's got almost no chance of getting his demands met.