The 10 highest-paid Championship players in 2025-26: Phillips, Leicester dominate… | OneFootball

Former Manchester City, Newcastle and Tottenham stars are among the highest-paid players in the EFL Championship this season.

No expense is being spared in the push for Premier League football, alongside several clubs with a bad financial hangover from their time in the top flight.

We’ve listed the full top 10 of highest paid second-tier footballers in 2025-26 and suddenly realised why Leicester City are in so much trouble.

=11. Finn Azaz – £50k

Southampton forked out an initial £12million and another £2million in add-ons to sign Azaz from Middlesbrough last summer.

The Republic of Ireland international is now taking home £50,000-per-week, which works out at around £2.6million-per-year.

He has struggled with consistency this season but has still scored eight goals and registered five assists in 28 Championship appearances for the Saints.

Following Adam Armstrong’s move to Wolves in the January transfer window, Azaz is now the highest-paid player at Southampton.

=11. Hamza Choudhury – £50k

One of seven current Leicester City players on this list, Choudhury is still somehow only 28 despite making his debut in the Sven-Goran Eriksson era. Go figure.

=11. Oliver Skipp – £50k

After winning the Championship title in 2023-24, Leicester City tried to bolster their midfield options by signing Skipp from Tottenham Hotspur in a £20million deal.

Alongside the transfer fee, the Foxes also agreed to give the midfielder a five-year contract worth £50,000-per-week.

But he was unable to prevent their relegation from the Premier League last season, or bolster their promotion prospects this year.

=11. Carlos Vicente – £50k

Bankrolled by American investment firm Knighthead, Birmingham City are now able to pay big transfer fees and hand out lucrative contracts.

In the January transfer window, they fought off competition from Ajax to sign Vicente from Deportivo Alaves in a £7million deal.

“When I heard about Birmingham, I was really interested in the project here,” he said. “The opportunity, the project, but also how much they wanted me. That’s really important to me.

“It’s a big challenge to come and get the promotion that the team and the city deserve. I’m here to complete this challenge because it is a big motivation for me.”

The 26-year-old winger signed a three-and-a-half-year contract and more than doubled his wages, going from £17,500-per-week in LaLiga to £50,000-per-week in the Championship.

7. Jannik Vestergaard – £60k

Leicester really are screwed, aren’t they?

6. Joe Aribo – £70k

Aribo shot to prominence at Rangers, where he won the Premiership title and Scottish FA Cup, and scored in the 2022 Europa League final defeat by Eintracht Frankfurt.

That earned the midfielder a £10million move to Southampton and a significant pay rise, going from £7,500-per-week in Scotland to £70,000-per-week.

He was relegated from the Premier League in his debut season and won the Championship play-off final in 2023-24 before going straight back down again.

The Nigeria international was loaned out to fellow Championship side Leicester City in the January transfer window, and both teams are covering half of his wages.

5. Patson Daka – £75k

Daka has scored one Championship goal in 24 appearances this season and is pocketing £75,000 every week for his ‘efforts’.

We’re starting to see why Leicester have been deducted points.

4. Ricardo Pereira – £80k

Pereira is now in his eighth season at Leicester City, having joined the Foxes from Porto in a deal worth an initial £17.5million in the summer of 2018.

He picked up an FA Cup winner’s medal in the 2020-21 season and was also part of the side that won the Championship under Maresca.

The 32-year-old right-back replaced Jamie Vardy as the club captain last summer and is the second-highest-paid player at the club. taking home £80,000-per-week.

But his contract is due to expire at the end of the 2025-26 season, and he has been linked with clubs in Spain and Portugal.

3. Harry Winks – £90k

After falling down the pecking order at Tottenham, Winks joined Leicester City in the summer of 2023 in search of regular first-team football.

Despite going from the Premier League to the Championship, he got a pay rise and his wages went from £50,000-per-week to £90,000-per-week.

The midfielder enjoyed an impressive debut season under Enzo Maresca, starting in all but one of their 46 Championship matches as they lifted the second-tier title in 2023-24.

But things went downhill in his second season when he refused to stay at Leicester’s training ground overnight ahead of a match, a decision that reportedly led to a confrontation with then-manager Ruud van Nistelrooy.

The 30-year-old also had issues with Marti Cifuentes and reportedly clashed with staff and players in training earlier this season.

Following a two-month absence from the first team, he was greeted by a mixture of boos and applause in a recent game at the King Power Stadium and looks set to leave the club on a free transfer at the end of the season.

2. Matt Targett – £100k

Following their Saudi-backed takeover in 2021, Newcastle United signed Targett on an initial loan deal before handing him a four-year contract worth £100,000-per-week.

The left-back eventually became a bit-part player as he competed with the likes of Lewis Hall, Tino Livramento and Dan Burn for a starting spot.

He left Newcastle on a season-long loan deal last summer but remained in the North-East with Middlesbrough, who are paying 60% of his wages.

The 30-year-old has since become a fan favourite at the Riverside, contributing two goals and three assists in 27 Championship appearances.

He is now hoping to win promotion to the Premier League for a second time, having been part of the Fulham side that won the Championship play-off final in 2017-18.

1. Kalvin Phillips – £150k

A Leeds United academy graduate, Phillips starred under Marcelo Bielsa and was an integral part of the Championship-winning side in 2019-20.

The midfielder seamlessly stepped up to Premier League football and was also named England Men’s Player of the Year off the back of his performances at Euro 2020.

He joined Manchester City in a £45million deal in the summer of 2022 and put pen to paper on a six-year contract worth £150,000-per-week.

But the 30-year-old failed to force his way into Pep Guardiola’s plans and also struggled with injury problems, making just 32 appearances for City.

Following disappointing loan spells at West Ham United and Ipswich Town, he has now returned to the Championship with Sheffield United on a six-month loan deal.

The Blades will be paying him £45,000-per-week, while City are still covering the remaining £105,000-per-week.