But we are paying him that money! It just means he has to sacrifice his career if he's going to be stubborn about earning that precise wage. I earn nothing in the same area code as much as Billy Sharp, but given the choice of long-term furthering my career or damaging it, yes, I'd take a 25% pay cut. You're making out that we're refusing to pay him his (inflated) salary. Nobody is doing that.
Not suggesting that whatsoever. There is no realistic possibility that he will be left in the reserves though, because it is not at all in the club's interest to do that. So given there is little prospect of damaging his career by spending the next two years on loan, why should he take a pay cut? The only answer I can see is "because he could live on less", and from his perspective that doesn't really cut it.
Cheers for putting me right on that..........Sadly though, then it would seem they want to do it on the cheap which of course they are obviously not going to be able to do then........