Transfer fees make headlines, but the salaries of the players make up a significant part of the club’s budget, often around 80%.
Aside from a few exceptions like Virgil van Dijk, it’s almost always the attackers who make the big bucks – but how many of the highest-paid players in the Premier League are actually value for money?
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We have selected the ten highest-paid attackers in the league according to Capology, and looked at how cost-effective they have been in the eight weeks since the Premier League started. – On our Live service, you can follow the Premier League matches.
=10) Marcus Rashford and Bradley Barcola (have not yet scored or provided assists)
Since neither has had a goal-scoring involvement in the league so far, neither Barcola nor Rashford are profitable yet.
In Barcola’s defence, he arrived a few weeks after the start of the season and is new to the league – but he has still cost Liverpool £1.7 million in wages so far.
He has at least scored in the Champions League, which cannot be said about Rashford.
He is the seventh highest paid player in the league, but is without a goal or assist in both the Premier League, Champions League and League Cup.
That means United have forked out £2.4 million for nothing.
- Jeremy Doku – £2.2 million per involvement
The Manchester City winger is getting a lot of slack as he has only played 49 minutes of Premier League football this season – but he is still getting paid in that time.
Doku is said to be earning £280,000 a week at City, with a contract that runs until 2028. But at least he has scored in his limited minutes.
His twisted finish against Liverpool was his first goal-scoring involvement of the season, and means City have so far paid £2.2 million per involvement.
- Phil Foden – £1.2 million per involvement
Foden brings in £300,000 a week, which means he has cost City £2.4 million so far this season – with little to show for it.
He has two assists, both in the 4-1 win over Crystal Palace in the second game of the season.
However, Foden has missed the last two games due to suspension after the red card against Manchester United, when he kicked after Bruno Fernandes.
So City have paid for him to sit on the sidelines – at £1.2 million per goal point.
- Kai Havertz – £1.1 million per involvement
Havertz has established himself as Arsenal’s first choice at the top and has contributed two goals so far this season.
Both were goals, with Havertz scoring in the season opener against Coventry before another against his former club Chelsea.
Since then, he has gone three games without a goal or an assist.
Viktor Gyökeres has only played 56 minutes of Premier League football, which means that Arsenal have paid him £1.3 million for very little.
- Bukayo Saka – £800,000 per involvement
Saka landed a lucrative new deal at Arsenal that makes him the club’s highest-paid player, at £300,000 a week.
However, it has been a bit of a slow start for the Arsenal player. He started the year with two goals in a row, but has only one in the four games since.
He has yet to deliver a Premier League assist this season, which gives him three league goals – a rate of £800,000 per goal point.
- Erling Haaland – £700,000 per involvement
Haaland is the highest-paid player in the Premier League at over half a million a week – but his prolific payoff still makes him one of the most cost-effective in the league.
In the eight weeks since the start of the season, City have forked out £4.2 million, but Haaland has paid back with six goals in the Premier League – all goals.
To make him even more valuable: three of the six goals have been game-changing, including against Coventry, Manchester United and Liverpool.
In total, City have paid £700,000 per Haaland goal so far this season.
- Cody Gakpo – £620,000 per involvement
Gakpo earns surprisingly high at £310,000 a week, which explains why someone at Liverpool reportedly wanted to sell him this summer.
He was – and has proven to be worth it, with four goal points for the club, shared top with Isak.
Three of the Dutchman’s goal points are assists, while his one goal came against Newcastle on the opening day. In total, he has cost Liverpool £620,000 per goal point.
- Alexander Isak – £600,000 per involvement
Considering the price he cost, Isak sits relatively low on the list of the highest paid at £300,000 a week (how is he going to survive?) – and has proven to be good value so far this season.
After a slow first season, Isak has started this with four goals in five Premier League games.
Two of them came against Ipswich, as well as one each against Forest and Bournemouth.
In total, Isak has cost Liverpool £600,000 a week.
- Morgan Rogers – £448,000 per involvement
Rogers’ brilliant start to his Chelsea career makes him the best currency among the ten highest-paid attackers.
The former Aston Villa player has five goals this season, four of them goals, and he has contributed in all but one game – Chelsea’s 3-0 loss away to Brentford.
Rogers is said to be earning £280,000 a week at Chelsea, meaning he has earned £2.2 million since the start of the season – but is delivering goals and assists at a pace of £448,000 per involvement.
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