Leeds United have had one of the best squads in the league over the past year.
The club were stacked with talent just last season as they narrowly missed out on promotion. Daniel Farke had some of the best players in the league last summer, and despite losing a lot, has retained a few for this season.
This summer, Leeds sold three key players to the Premier League. Georginio Rutter, Archie Gray and Crysencio Summerville went for a combined €100million. Glen Kamara and Marc Roca also joined clubs playing in UEFA cup competitions this year.
Daniel Farke still has a very talented squad at his disposal compared to other promotion rivals. Leeds still have one of the best goalscorers in the championship in Joel Piroe, two of the best defenders in the league in Joe Rodon and Pascal Struijk and one of the best players in the league this season: Japanese international Ao Tanaka.
QUIZ: Can you name the missing player from these 10 famous Leeds United photos?
How the wage bill of Leeds United compares to other Championship clubs
Credit: Imago Images
The past two seasons, clubs that were relegated from the Premier League went back up immediately. Burnley, Leicester City and Southampton are just a few examples of this. Clubs from the Premier League have bigger budgets due to television rights, so when they drop down to the championship they can afford to sign or keep quality players.
According to Capology, Leeds United have the highest wage bill in the Championship this season. The Whites reportedly pay an estimated £36,816,000 per year to their players. Burnley are the next club with the highest wage bill with £30,992,000. Aside these two, the closest wage bill in the Championship is estimated around £22,958,000.
Patrick Bamford is the highest paid player at Leeds United with a reported £70,000 a week. This could explain why the experienced striker is not leaving the club in the near future, despite recent reports.
Junior Firpo and Spurs loanee Manor Solomon are the next highest paid at the club at £60,000. Capology also reveals that out of the 10 highest paid players in the Championship, Leeds United employ six of them.
Promotion should be the aim this season
With this amount of talent at his disposal, Daniel Farke can repeat what he did last season and reach the championship playoff final. However, the one problem with such a wage bill in the championship is that clubs will need to be promoted for it to be sustainable.
With PSR and the new measures in English football, clubs will need to match what they spend on wages and transfers. Despite investment from 49ers Enterprises and Red Bull, another year in the championship will not be financially beneficial.
