8 EFL Championship players who you might think are overpaid | OneFootball

The 8 most overpaid players in the Championship this season

The Championship season is now entering the crucial stages as the likes of Middlesbrough, Coventry City, Millwall and Ipswich Town compete for Premier League promotion.

At the other end of the table, Sheffield Wednesday have already had their relegation to League One confirmed, but they could be joined by clubs such as Oxford United, Leicester City, West Brom or Blackburn Rovers.

Meanwhile, there are still several sides with their sights set on earning a play-off place, so it is really all still to play for in these final months.

It is set to be a dramatic end to the term, and teams will be relying on key players to help them get over the line and achieve something.

The best paid players are often the ones that squads will look to for the moments of magic that can decide a game, but sometimes those players fail to justify their place in the hierarchy.

Here we use estimated figures from Capology to look at who the eight most overpaid players in the Championship are this campaign…

8 ? ? Ricardo Pereira

Ricardo Pereira was once a top Premier League player for Leicester City, so it’s no surprise that he’s earned the distinction of being one of their best paid stars.

The full-back is on a deal worth £80,000 per week in what is his eighth campaign at the King Power Stadium.

The 32-year-old has featured regularly this term, and he still has flashes of his old self, but it’s clear that he’s past his best these days.

While he’s still a useful member of the squad, the Foxes do find themselves fighting against relegation to League One now under Gary Rowett.

On that basis, any player being offered £80,000 per week is going to be considered overpaid, even if Pereira’s past achievements explain how he may have ended up on such a wage.

7 ? ? Danny Ings

Danny Ings joined Sheffield United in the 2025 summer transfer window on a one-year deal following their play-off final loss to Sunderland.

The Blades hoped his arrival would be a key factor in powering the club back to the Premier League.

However, the striker has struggled for form in the Championship, and has barely featured under Chris Wilder.

The veteran forward has started just a handful of league games, and the Yorkshire outfit are on the fringes of the play-off battle, and will need an excellent run of form in the final months to regain their place in the top six.

Ings is one of Sheffield United’s best paid players at £30,000 per week, but it’s fair to say he hasn’t lived up to expectations since joining from West Ham.

6 ? ? Shane Duffy

Shane Duffy is Norwich City’s best paid player this season, with the Irishman earning £35,000 per week.

However, the centre-back is an irrelevant figure in the grand scheme of things at Carrow Road, and he has barely played.

The defender is far from his best these days, and the Canaries certainly won’t be relying on him to play a major role in their bid to remain in the second division beyond this term.

Duffy is in his third season with Norwich, signing as a free agent from Fulham in 2023, and he is set to become a free agent in the summer.

All in all, this deal worked out alright for the Norfolk outfit, but it would be very surprising if he was kept on into next season given these wages and his lack of game time.

5 ? ? Kyogo Furuhashi

Birmingham City fans were quite excited by the signing of Kyogo Furuhashi last summer following their promotion to the Championship.

The winger had a difficult spell at Rennes prior to his move to St. Andrew’s, but he thrived for years at Celtic and was a crucial part of four consecutive league titles.

But the Japan international has been unable to recapture that form, continuing where he left off from his time in France.

The 31-year-old took until late January to score his first league goal, and it came against the massively-struggling Sheffield Wednesday.

Given Furuhashi is Birmingham’s second best paid player, at a weekly wage of £35,000, it’s fair to say he’s been an extremely disappointing signing.

With his contract running until the summer of 2029, the cost of this deal could prove quite an error from the Midlands outfit.

4 ? ? Jamaal Lascelles

Jamaal Lascelles made the switch to Leicester from Newcastle United at the end of the January transfer window after falling down the pecking order under Eddie Howe.

Sensibly, the defender was only signed to a contract until the end of the season, but a weekly salary of £50,000 is still quite a lot for someone who has played so little in the last couple of seasons.

The Foxes needed reinforcements in the winter market given their poor form, but the 32-year-old’s lack of recent game time means that he needs time to get back up to full match fitness.

At best, Lascelles can provide solid cover at the back for the club, which makes his £50,000 per week wage a big cost for someone of that status in the squad.

3 ? ? Harry Souttar

Harry Souttar was one of the best-regarded defenders in the Championship when Leicester City signed him in January 2023.

But the centre-back has made very little impact in his three years at the King Power Stadium, which includes his failure to make a single appearance in 2025/26 so far due to an Achilles injury.

The Australia international earns £40,000 per week from the Foxes, making him the eighth highest paid player at the club.

With his contract still running until June 2028, his signing could yet go down as one of the worst in Leicester’s history.

Souttar was also signed from Stoke City for a transfer fee worth a reported £15 million.

2 ? ? Alex McCarthy

Alex McCarthy has been with Southampton since 2016, making him one of the longest-standing members of the first team squad.

However, the goalkeeper has not been a permanent fixture of the side for many seasons now, making no more than a handful of appearances per campaign since he played 17 times in 2021/22.

However, the shot-stopper is the second best paid member of the Saints’ team at a wage of £40,000 per week.

Given his status within the squad, there are better uses of their resources available.

1 ? ? Patson Daka

Patson Daka is not only the third best paid player in the Leicester squad, but he is the third best paid player in the entire second division.

The forward receives £75,000 per week from the Foxes, which is £25,000 per week more than the next highest paid non-Leicester player in the Championship (Carlos Vicente).

However, he has failed to make much of an impact for the club this season, and he has been more of a secondary option rather than a consistent starter.

The saving grace for the Leicestershire outfit is that the 27-year-old’s contract is set to expire in June, but failing to offload him for any kind of fee in previous transfer windows has left the club on the hook for a wage they simply should not be paying at this level, especially for someone who has made so little impact on the team.