Top 7 highest paid Stoke City players in 2026/27 | OneFootball

FLW takes a look at Stoke City's highest-paid players for the upcoming campaign as per Capology estimates

Stoke City have had a busy summer so far, with more incomings than outgoings as yet, though as Mark Robins prepares his squad for a push towards the play-offs next season, exits are expected between now and the end of the window.

Indeed, Stoke are entering their ninth consecutive year in the Championship, with the hopes of finally breaking their way into the top half for the first time in a decade.

The Potters' transfer business since then, on the whole, has been sub-par at best, and abysmal at worst, culminating in the demise and subsequent stagnation in terms of league positions for the club.

Joshua Griffiths, Djibril Soumare, Ethan Galbraith, Svante Ingelsson, and Luke Graham have all made the switch to the Potteries this summer already, as Robins continues to try and stamp his authority on this Stoke squad.

There remains a lot of need for change to fully optimise the Potters' ranks, with numerous high earners arguably not justifying their weekly pay packet, as FLW takes a look at the seven highest earners in the current Stoke ranks.

7 ? ? Sorba Thomas

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Joining from Huddersfield Town last summer for a fee believed to have been less than £2 million, Sorba Thomas enjoyed his best season to date in terms of goals and assists, grabbing ten goals and 11 assists in 45 Championship games last season.

The Welsh international was by far and away the Potters' best player last year, and more than earned his estimated weekly wage of £20k.

With two years remaining on his current deal, Thomas will be crucial for Stoke's promotion prospects next year, where they will be hoping he can replicate those numbers once again.

6 ? ? Robert Bozenik

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Slovakian centre-forward Robert Bozenik made the move to the Potteries last summer on a free transfer from Portuguese side Boavista, but struggled in his first year in England.

It took the 26-year-old took 19 games to net his first goal for the club, and he would suffer a painful shoulder injury shortly after finding the back of the net for Stoke against Hull, ruling him out from January onwards for a few months.

Now, he has since taken the number 9 shirt from Divin Mubama, and looks to have a much more fruitful year at the bet365 Stadium after a tricky start to life with the club, and hopes to justify his estimated £20k per week salary.

5 ? ? Aaron Cresswell

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Former Ipswich Town and West Ham United defender Aaron Cresswell displayed his experience and quality in the early stages of last campaign following his free transfer to Stoke last summer.

Though injuries disrupted his time on the field, the Englishman did enough to earn a fresh one-year deal in North Staffordshire, and will continue to provide competition in that role with Eric Bocat or any other arriving left-back.

At 36, Cresswell has accumulated over 600 professional appearances over the course of his career, and his estimated £20k per week salary, though it may seem steep now, is indicative of how he has performed over the years.

4 ? ? Ben Wilmot

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Ben Wilmot's contract was due to expire this summer, but Stoke triggered an option to extend his stay in the Potteries for one more year.

The former Stevenage and Watford defender is one of the longest-serving members of the Potters squad, seeing numerous turnovers in the playing squad and staff since arriving from the Hornets in the summer of 2021.

Now 26, the Englishman is entering his prime years, and Stoke ought to consider offering him a fresh deal sooner rather than later to avoid losing him for nothing next summer, as with just shy of 200 appearances across all competitions for the club, he has more than justified his estimated £20k per week wage.

3 ? ? Sam Gallagher

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Sam Gallagher made the move to Stoke in the summer of 2024 for around £1.5 million from Blackburn Rovers, but has failed to live up to expectations since arriving in the Potteries.

Handed a handsome estimated £25k per week wage salary on a three-year deal by former head coach Steven Schumacher, Gallagher has scored just five goals and assisted once in 42 games across all competitions in two years at the club.

With Milan Smit and Bozenik as options up top already, and Stoke looking to sign another centre-forward amid links to Daniel Karlsbakk, Gallagher could be shifted on this summer to get his hefty wages off the books.

2 ? ? Viktor Johansson

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Swedish international Viktor Johansson has been among one of the best goalkeepers in the Championship over the past half decade, spanning to his time with Rotherham United.

Johansson would make the move to the Potteries in the summer of 2024 for a reported £750k, and has been one of the clubs most important players since, with his shoulder injury sustained in late December last year culminating in a huge dip in form for Stoke, with the defence leaking more goals than before.

Having signed a fresh four-year deal recently, Johansson is now among one of Stoke's top earners on an estimated £25k per week, and fully deserves to be.

1 ? ? Ben Gibson

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Rounding out the list is former Middlesbrough, Norwich City, and Burnley defender Ben Gibson.

Like both Gallagher and Johansson, the defender joined Stoke in the summer of 2024 under the watch of Schumacher, penning a three-year deal on an estimated £35k per week.

Having featured regularly under Schumacher and then Narcis Pelach, Gibson has been out in the cold under Robins, serving as fifth-choice centre-back and third-choice left-back.

The club captain has made 40 appearances across all competitions for the Potters, and though his estimated wage was always going to be difficult to justifty, he hasn't come remotely close to doing so.