Butler signs for Wolves - January 31, 2001
Sunderland defender Paul Butler has signed for Wolves in a £1m-plus deal which will keep him at the Molineux club for three-and-a-half years.
Butler impressed on loan at Wolves earlier in the season and was about to sign a permanent deal when manager Colin Lee got the sack. This made the one-cap Republic of Ireland international hesitate and he decided to return to the Stadium of Light until a new manager was appointed at the first division club.
Former Southampton boss Dave Jones has since taken over the hot-seat at Wolves and he has made Butler his first major signing.
The deal will cost Wolves an initial fee of £1m which will rise by a further £300,000 if they are promoted to the Premiership.
Jones said: "I'm pleased to have it all signed and sealed. Paul is a very experienced player who'll be a great asset to this club.
"He knows what it takes to get out of this division and he wants to get back to where he feels he belongs - in the top flight."
The 28-year-old was an integral part of Sunderland's rise to the Premiership and seemed happy in the higher grade - but he has lost his place in Peter Reid's side since the arrival of Stanislav Varga and Emerson Thome.
Peter Reid said: "Paul did a smashing job for us both in the first division and the Premiership.
"When he first arrived he was not a big name but he was top drawer. It's time for him to move on and I'm sure he'll be a success at Wolves."
Even though Paul has not figured for Sunderland this season the club still made back the £1m that they paid for him from Bury and they won't be begrudged the extra £300,000 if he manages to help Wolves to the Holy Grail of promotion.
Paul became a firm favourite at Molineux in his time on loan at the club and he is delighted to be returning.
He said: "I didn't want to leave in the first place but, under the circumstances, it was hard for me to come back without a manager here.
"Like any person in any job, if you don't know who your gaffer's going to be it's hard to come back. But, as soon as they brought Dave Jones in, it was back on again and obviously I wanted to come back.
"He's got the same views as I have - we want to get this club into the Premiership. I've just come out of it and I want to get back as quickly as possible."