Former West Bromwich Albion defender Curtis Davies has claimed that club chairman Jeremy Peace is not a pushover when it comes to transfer dealings.
The 30-year-old's comments came after Baggies striker Saido Berahino was denied a move to Tottenham Hotspur, which escalated when he tweeted that he would never play for Peace again.
Davies told BBC Sport: "If Jeremy doesn't get the money he wants, he doesn't need to sell anyone to balance the books. I don't know what Saido's been told behind the scenes or if he's been told he can go if the offer reached a certain level.
"But I had a scenario where I was told that I'd be allowed to leave if we didn't go up. I did manage to go, but it went all the way down to the wire on deadline day. I ended up going to Aston Villa.
"It was never a personal thing. It's just that he's a businessman, and he has to run his business in the right way. That's what he chose to do. He got the money and that's what he wanted."
Davies currently plays for Championship side Hull City.