What Joe Rankin-Costello earns at Charlton Athletic compared to Blackburn Rovers – He hasn’t found Nathan Jones role | OneFootball

Joe Rankin-Costello is struggling for minutes at The Valley after getting a pay rise from Charlton Athletic following his move from Blackburn Rovers.

Following promotion back to the Championship via the League One play-offs last season, Charlton Athletic embarked upon a very busy summer transfer window which saw the Addicks spend reasonably heavily to ensure they would be competitive in the second-tier.

Among a raft of new additions, which included the marquee £5 million signing of last season’s League One top scorer Charlie Kelman from Queens Park Rangers, was Joe Rankin-Costello, joining from Blackburn Rovers.

Nathan Jones has been known for playing a back three in the past, and he did so for a large part of last season for Charlton, having been successful with that approach at Luton Town and then wedded to it at Stoke City.

However, so far this season, the former Southampton boss has largely been keen to play with a back four in a 4-2-3-1 shape. That is a surprise given the back three seemed likely at The Valley, given that they were playing at a higher level.

Regardless of the shape and the system, Rankin-Costello has struggled for minutes in South London, with the versatile Stockport-born 26-year-old having made just two appearances and playing just five minutes for Athletic in the Championship so far this season.

What Joe Rankin-Costello is earning at Charlton Athletic compared to Blackburn Rovers

In a busy window which saw Jones completely revamp the squad - particularly defensively - at Charlton, Rankin-Costello arrived for an undisclosed fee from Blackburn Rovers.

Having come through the academy at Manchester United and then at Ewood Park, Rankin-Costello went on to play over 130 times for Rovers’ first-team, including 29 games in the Championship last season.

The ideal squad player, as someone who could play at right-back or on the wing, or even in midfield if required, Rankin-Costello seemed a very useful addition for a newly-promoted outfit.

However, it has represented a reasonably significant financial outlay for Charlton, boosting the wage of someone who is barely featuring for them at all at this stage.

According to Capology (whose figures must be stressed are an estimate), Rankin-Costello earned less than £1,000 per week in his first three years as a professional at Blackburn, before signing a contract worth £8,500 per week from the 2023/24 season.

Having earned that wage for two seasons, his move to Charlton signalled a pay rise, going up to £10,000 per week down at The Valley; locked into a four-year contract, too, earning a cool £1,500 per week more according to Capology's figures.

Charlton need Joe Rankin-Costello to start contributing

That aforementioned versatility of being able to play at right-back or on the right-hand side of midfield would surely suggest that Rankin-Costello would be an ideal player for a right wing-back role.

However, with Jones seemingly wedded to the back four and Charlton a competitive force in the second-tier, Rankin-Costello appears to have already been deemed surplus to requirements at the club.

That will surely be frustrating and a slight concern for the club’s hierarchy, with the significant outlay over the summer not necessarily something that can be wasted – and, as it stands, Rankin-Costello appears to have been a slight waste of a signing.

A £1,500 per week pay rise for a player that has been an unused substitute in all but two games, with those other two matches seeing him enter the pitch in the 86th minute and the 90th.

Unable to find a spot in Nathan Jones’ first eleven, or even show his useful versatility and utility man attributes off the bench, Charlton may well already be regretting having locked Rankin-Costello into a four-year contract too, meaning he will remain on his reasonably hefty salary until the summer of 2029.

For context, only four players reportedly earn more than Rankin-Costello at the club, according to Capology.

Goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski is the club’s highest earner on £20,000 per week, whilst Luke Berry comes in at £15,000. Reece Burke and Matty Godden are supposedly earning £12,500 respectively.

Interestingly, Berry has made just one brief substitute appearance in the league so far this season, whilst Reece Burke has seemingly been deemed to be a squad player and Matty Godden is missing through injury.

As such, Rankin-Costello isn’t the only high earner currently burning a hole in Charlton’s pocket without contributing too much, but the fact he must have been targeted for a specific role that isn’t being used in the current setup will be of immense frustration to both him and the club.