Josh Brownhill shuns Championship record deal from Leicester City

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Josh Brownhill has remained a free agent for the whole summer transfer window, but he could now be close to securing a move which will disappoint Leicester City fans.

After helping Burnley achieve promotion from the Championship last season, scoring 18 goals along the way, Josh Brownhill decided to leave the club at the expiry of his contract.

There have been rumours around the midfielder’s future all summer, with Burnley trying to tie him down with a bumper offer, plenty of interest from Premier League clubs, and Leicester City trying to bag the midfielder.

Just today, Wolves emerged as an option for Brownhill, and it now seems Leicester have learned they have no chance of signing the 29-year-old.

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Josh Brownhill chooses Saudi move over Leicester City deal

We previously covered the fact that Leicester had offered Brownhill a long-term contract, but more details have now been revealed thanks to our Chief Football Correspondent Graeme Bailey.

EFL Analysis understands that Josh Brownhill has turned down the chance to become one of the highest-paid players in Championship history after rejecting Leicester City’s offer of a contract.

Leicester have worked hard to land Brownhill and offered him a long-term deal that included bonuses for promotion that would have seen him earn close to £100,000-a-week.

We understand that Saudi Arabian club Al Shabab are hoping he will fly to the Middle East this week to finalise his deal, whilst Premier League interest remains.

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Josh Brownhill took the Championship by storm last season

With 18 goals and six assists last season, it’s safe to say that Josh Brownhill was one of the best players in the Championship in 2024/25.

He essentially dragged Burnley to promotion and turned a three-horse race into a foregone conclusion by firing the key goals that secured the Clarets second spot in the league.

Incredibly, Brownhill registered 18 goals against an xG of just 9.9 across the campaign. Only three of his goals were from the penalty spot, while he also clocked an impressive 40.6% shots on target ratio.

All of this, for a midfielder, is astounding really. Not only was Brownhill doing his own work in the middle of the park, with a 79% pass success rate and 1.66 tackles per 90, but he was also creating just about everything for Burnley, too.

Brownhill also managed to produce 2.82 shot-creating actions per 90 and 0.36 goal-creating actions per 90 for Burnley.