So, trying to make sense of this.
It looks like the initial contract offer was for him was with the belief of him still being a no.1 keeper. The drastically reduced wages are probably still a lot if we are scaling it on his ridiculous 375k week contract. ETH then looks like made it clear that DDG will not be the 1st choice next year and he wants a new keeper, so either let him go or offer him a contract in line with a 2nd choice keeper, which the club have done.
The salary for a 2nd choice is likely far lesser than his previous salary, but with the Saudi interest, it looks like DDG also made his decision as well and is not worried about it that much either.
This should have been handled much better no doubt and looks a bit of a circus, but I am not against the actual decision and thinking behind it.
ETH is right to demand better, and not just keep penny pinching and trying to just about be a top 4 challenging club and not aim higher. No surprise at the mess with the money men though, happy to keep mediocrity going as they can keep penny pinching and not making the big decisions.
Has there been any other clubs looking to take him on a free?
The Saudi league clubs are rumored to be interested.