Albion have been handed another boost to their summer spending budget thanks to Sunderland’s Premier League survival.

The £2.5 million sale of winger Will Buckley in August included a pay-out clause if he helped the Black Cats stay in the top flight.

The clause, negotiated when ex-Albion boss Gus Poyet was manager of the North-East giants, came to fruition at the Emirates on Wednesday evening.

Buckley came off the bench in the second half to help Dick Advocaat’s side to a 0-0 draw at Arsenal which guaranteed their safety.

It has left neighbours Newcastle fighting it out with Hull on the last day of the Premier League season tomorrow to avoid dropping into the Championship alongside the Seagulls.

The Argus revealed earlier this month that Albion had the same type of clause inserted into the deal which took their former goalscoring talisman Leo Ulloa to Leicester for £10 million in July.

Leicester completed a remarkable recovery under Nigel Pearson with a 0-0 draw at Sunderland last Saturday to secure their Premier League status.

Albion’s share for Ulloa and Buckley helping their clubs stay up is believed to be worth a combined total of around £2 million, a healthy tonic to Chris Hughton’s plans to turn them back into a Championship force next season.

Buckley’s run-out at Arsenal was his 24th outing of the season for Sunderland since his final appearance for Albion in the opening day defeat at home to Sheffield Wednesday.

The Argus understands ex-Albion team-mate Liam Bridcutt’s £2.5 million switch to Sunderland in the January 2014 transfer window did not include a survival clause.