He's not moving up a division, if he even leaves, which I'm not convinced of either.

I don't think he'll play but he'd be well within his rights to sit out his final contract year, pick up what's owed to him, and then move on/retire. We may not be offering him the full amount as a pay off.

It wouldn't sit well with fans, but the club agreed to the deal and if you're him, you want every penny of it. If his desire to play football isn't there then he may not want to move clubs and may instead see out the last year.