Top 7 EFL League One clubs making the smartest use of their money (Ranked) | OneFootball

Which third tier outfits have been spending their cash in the cleverest of ways?

League One clubs voted to amend their financial rules earlier this year for the 2026-27 season and beyond, which means it's more important than ever that clubs cut their cloth accordingly.

As confirmed by the EFL, third tier outfits can now only spend 50 per cent of their annual turnover on player and manager wages, which is down from 60 per cent, with newly-relegated clubs from the Championship permitted to spend 65 per cent on wages per turnover.

But which SEVEN League One clubs have been the smartest when it comes to making and spending their money in recent times? FLW takes a look and ranks them...

Plymouth Argyle

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Much has been made of Simon Hallett's ownership of Plymouth Argyle, with some fans believing that his time in charge at Home Park has ran its course - he's also been actively looking for fresh investment for a while now with no success.

What cannot be argued though is the way some of the club's money has been spent on players in recent years. Morgan Whittaker was a cheap buy from Swansea City and was flipped for significant profit just 18 months later, and whilst some of Argyle's purchases in their final Championship season didn't hit the heights expected, there's evidence that Home Park is a good place to develop.

Lorent Tolaj will feel that way after his £1.2 million switch from Port Vale in 2025 - just one season later, he was flipped to Bristol City for £4 million, just showing what platform Plymouth can give its players.

Tom Cleverley may not have replaced Tolaj with a like-for-like this summer, instead opting to go for Mansfield Town striker Will Evans, but the permanent recruits of 24-year-old trio Harvey White, Alex Mitchell and Murphy Cooper to improve the spine of his Pilgrims team could end up being masterstrokes, and a really good use of some of the cash made on the Swiss forward.

Notts County

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Relegated from League One in 2015, it took Notts County 11 years to return to the level after their play-off final success earlier in 2026 - and they've even spent time in the National League too.

And whilst they were in non league, the Reedtz brother - Alexander and Christoffer - completed their takeover of the Magpies, and they have not looked back since.

The National League days perhaps lasted longer than expected, with a four-year stint in England's fifth tier before they won promotion, but it then only took three years of League Two football for County to return to the third tier, and they've done it by recruiting smartly.

The Reedtz's are directors of an analytical company called Football Radar, and that data helps to form part of their transfer strategy - without it, they'd likely have not plucked Gambian striker Alassana Jatta from Viborg.

And when Jatta departed this past summer to Casa Pia, Notts already had his replacement in the form of young Australian forward Luka Smyth, who was plying his trade in Finland and probably would not have been on the radar if it wasn't for the Reedtz's.

Combined with good connections to Premier League clubs, having signed the likes of Rory Finneran and Ishe Samuels-Smith on loan from Newcastle United and Chelsea respectively, Notts County have spent their money the right way in recent years, and the next step is now the lofty heights of the Championship.

Bradford City

You'll rarely see Bradford City spending big transfer fees nowadays, but the business they have done under Graham Alexander's management has been frugal and impressive.

Alexander has barely moved away from his trusted 3-4-2-1 system whilst managing the Bantams, and it's reaped the finest of rewards - winning promotion in 2025 from League Two followed by finishing in the top six of League One in 2025-26, only to succumb to the power of Bolton Wanderers in the play-off semi-finals.

With a chance to bolster the squad though, as well as cashing in on Millwall-bound Jenson Metcalfe over the summer, vital League One experience at both ends of the pitch was recruited in striker Jake Beesley, goalscoring midfielder Adam Phillips and defender Macaulay Gillesphey.

It's not all about signings with resale value that are the eye-catching one, and you can imagine Beesley and Phillips over the course of a season will win the club points, but Reece Welch and Henry Cartwright on permanent deals are the kind that you could see develop under Alexander and go on to better things.

Bradford's average home attendances are still fantastic at League One level, averaging over 20,000 at Valley Parade in the league last season, but that extra revenue will never see them spend beyond their means in pursuit of promotion.

Huddersfield Town

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Kevin Nagle's takeover of Huddersfield Town in 2023 hasn't reaped the rewards yet like he'd have hoped, with the only notable thing happening being relegation to the Championship in year one of the American's ownership.

Some money was wasted in the early stages - Rhys Healey was injury prone, Ben Wiles wasn't a hit and Dion Charles couldn't replicate his Bolton Wanderers scoring, but Nagle has definitely put his money where his mouth is on multiple occasions, including splashing the cash on Luton Town striker Joe Taylor in January 2025.

Taylor is finally getting a chance under new head coach Martin Drury and is starting to repay the £3 million fee, but it's perhaps the most recent summer additions that are the most impressive overall.

Dutch winger Derensili Sanches Fernandes is already looking like a revelation in League One, whilst the free transfer of ex-Peterborough United midfielder Archie Collins looks a bit of a bargain too - Ibane Bowat, Cameron Humphreys and Ethan Brierley too look to be incredibly smart business.

With a younger model of player arriving more regularly at the Accu Stadium, Nagle and his team are starting to get things right with their money.

Reading

Reading FC were finally released from the shackles of Dai Yongge in 2025, when former Wycombe Wanderers owner Rob Couhig completed his protracted takeover of the Berkshire outfit.

Since that takeover from the American former lawyer, the aim has been to get the Royals back on a sound financial footing, and whilst they've never struggled to sell a player for seven figures, there needed to be a balance between cashing in for the right price, and signing quality replacements.

Aside from the goalscoring experience of Jack Marriott, many of Reading's recent investments have been players in their early 20s - Haydon Roberts, Benn Ward, Kyreece Lisbie, Udoka Godwin-Malife and George Earthy are just some of the permanent additions, and they could make the club millions down the line if they aren't promoted to the Championship.

In recent years, the likes of Harvey Knibbs, Sam Smith and Femi Azeez have been sold for seven-figure sums, and whilst Reading didn't commit to any sales around that price range this past summer, there are now players in Leam Richardson's squad that Couhig could trade down the line - that's what a League One club should be always aiming to do.

Stockport County

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Stockport County may have lost their successful manager in Dave Challinor, but their ambitions remain the same - even after some eye-opening summer business.

Promotion-specialist Challinor's lowest finish in charge of the Hatters was fourth in League Two in 2022-23 in his five completed seasons in the dugout at Edgeley Park, which is a glowing testament to his management skills, but he was also able to bring some real talents to the club.

There's not been a mass amount of big sales at the Hatters in recent years amid their climb back up the footballing pyramid, with Tanto Olaofe to Charlton, Sam Hughes to Peterborough United and Jayden Fevrier to Blackburn Rovers perhaps being the best example of making some money on first-teamers, but the more impressive thing for Stockport is the gems they unearth - even after Challinor's departure.

New manager Jimmy McNulty has some new hot young talents under his belt, like Ethan Ennis, Mamadou Jobe and Harry Wood, who's already firing in goals at League One level, and combined with a sprinkling of experience and loanees, there's still significant potential in Stockport - even if it looked as though they may take a bit of a step back with some of their summer business on paper.

Leyton Orient

Taking a punt on Southampton striker Dom Ballard last summer may be the best thing Leyton Orient have done in some time - it may have given them the platform to become League One promotion contenders.

The 23 League One goals Ballard scored led to a £5 million move to Bristol City over the summer, and that cash has led to Richie Wellens completely transforming his attack.

Grimsby Town's Jaze Kabia was the big money signing, and he was joined by Tottenham loanee Yusuf Akhamrich, Chesterfield playmaker Armando Dobra and one-time highly-rated Spurs man Dane Scarlett.

If Wellens can unlock Scarlett's past potential like he did with Ballard, then it's feasible to suggest another big-money sale will come down the line next summer, but the loan deals for Alfie Gilchrist and Oliver Dovin of West Brom and Coventry City respectively were also big statements of intent too.

Adding experience like Isaac Hayden to Wellens' midfield is also a smart play, and if Orient can sanction a big sale every summer and re-invest some of the cash, providing they do not win promotion to the Championship, then they could very well be the smartest spenders in the division - if they aren't already.