Former Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Carlton Palmer believes Julian Borner's contract situation at Hillsborough will get 'messy' in an interview with Football Fancast, with the defender attempting to force through a move.

Borner, 30, is part of a Wednesday side who saw their wages go unpaid at the latter end of last season, with some squad members not even being paid for the previous three months at the time.

With this, several were considering handing in their notice in an attempt to find a new club, with the PFA also getting involved at one point to try and resolve the situation.

 

 

Although this situation was sorted out at the end of last month, German centre-back Julian Borner had already moved to agree a contract with Hannover 96 but with the 30-year-old still having one year left on his contract with the Owls, his future remains unclear.

Borner has reportedly initiated arbitration proceedings against the club - but as things stand - the League One outfit are said to be unwilling to let the defender leave the club for free this summer.

Former Wednesday midfielder Carlton Palmer predicts this could be a lengthy legal dispute between all parties, with the German's heart set on a move after a turbulent year in England.

Speaking to Football FanCast on this subject, Palmer said: "It’s going to get messy because it’s an interpretation. If the players haven’t been paid for a period of time then they are entitled to exercise the right to cancel their contracts.

"The problem is when they have been paid part of their salary. My understanding is that the players have been paid part of their wages. As long as they’ve been paid part of their wages, they’re in a situation where they’re owed money but they can’t cancel their contract.

"Obviously you’re going to get some agents who are going to try to be clever and say he hasn’t been in full so we’re entitled to cancel the contract. My understanding is they can’t do that."

The Verdict:

This is a quite remarkable situation.

Whether a court rules in Wednesday's favour remains to be seen - but this needs to be cleared up quickly so manager Darren Moore can establish whether Borner will be part of his plans for next season or not.

The Owls are already suffering from their lack of squad depth and will continue to do so throughout the season unless Moore can move quickly in the transfer market, and get a few more fresh faces in before the 2021/22 campaign begins.

Dennis Adeniran, Jaden Brown and Olamide Shodipo have joined this month after their embargo was lifted, so that's a good start.

Now they need to resolve their centre-back situation with Tom Lees and Joost van Aken leaving - and the Borner saga ongoing.