Top 12 highest paid EFL Championship goalkeepers in 2026/27 | OneFootball

Football League World counts down the highest-paid goalkeepers in the second tier this season

The 2026/27 Championship campaign is stacked with top goalkeepers, but who makes the big bucks to back up their shot-stopping abilities?

The second tier kicks off this weekend, and a plethora of keepers will be fighting to be recognised as the best in the division - a crown that's been left vacant after Carl Rushworth made the step-up to the Premier League with Coventry City this summer.

It's often the case that the best of the best are paid as such, but in between the sticks, that's not always accurate. Goalkeepers can often be left underappreciated on the overall wage bill, or are even paid higher than their output would suggest they should be.

Per Capology's estimates, here are the 12 highest-paid goalkeepers in the Championship heading into the new campaign.

12 ? ? Michael Cooper - £17,500 p/w

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Sheffield United's number one, Michael Cooper, just sneaks into 12th place on this list, and this time last year, a ranking outside the top 10 would have labelled him as criminally underrated.

The former Plymouth Argyle man was near-perfect in his debut campaign at Bramall Lane in 2024/25 as the Blades collected 92 points during the regular season but failed to earn promotion via the play-offs.

Last season saw an almighty drop-off from Sheffield United, though, and Cooper epitomised that in goal, keeping 13 fewer clean sheets and conceding 6.75 more goals than his expected goals against would suggest.

With Chris Wilder's side looking to get back towards play-off contention, they'll be reliant on an improved year from the 26-year-old.

11 ? ? Thomas Kaminski - £20,000 p/w

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The highest-paid player at Charlton Athletic, per Capology, is Belgian shot-stopper Thomas Kaminski, who was estimated to be given a £20,000 per week deal when he arrived last summer from Luton Town.

The Addicks were among the better defensive sides in the bottom half of the Championship table last season, but they could have been even better if Kaminski didn't endure a rough year in goal.

Like Cooper, the 33-year-old ranked right near the bottom of the goals prevented charts, conceding 6.6 more than his expected goals against suggested he should have. That being said, he still finished sixth in the clean sheet ranks.

Charlton will need to be solid defensively once again to remain in the second tier, you'd imagine, and an improved year from their top-earner could contribute to that happening.

10 ? ? Ryan Allsop - £20,000 p/w

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The goalkeeper position at Birmingham City is a real conversation point. James Beadle has returned on loan, but he didn't make too many fans in the stands at St Andrew's throughout his first spell last year.

In reserve is Ryan Allsop, who is estimated to be earning £20,000 per week at the big-spending Blues. The 34-year-old began last season as first-choice, but was phased out after September, allowing Beadle to come in.

Allsop will likely begin this season as the backup, but there will definitely be pressure to bring him back into the fold if the Brighton and Hove Albion loanee doesn't take those next steps to becoming a top Championship keeper.

9

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Norwich City have a top-six payroll heading into the Championship campaign this year, per Capology, so being able to pay goalkeeper Vladan Kovacevic an estimated £20,000 per week isn't something out of the question.

The 28-year-old had a decent first season at Carrow Road after arriving from Sporting Lisbon last summer. He was top-five in goals prevented, but other key goalkeeping stats, such as save percentage and clean sheets, had him in mid-table.

Crucially, though, his performances showed signs of improvement, as did everyone else's, in fairness, when Philippe Clement arrived in mid-November, and the Belgian boss has stuck with him this summer, allowing him to prove why he's a top-10 goalkeeper when it comes to wages.

8 ? ? Gavin Bazunu - £20,000 p/w

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The fourth and final keeper to be on an estimated £20,000 per week is Gavin Bazunu, who really needs to bounce back this upcoming campaign after a couple of years in the wilderness.

The Irishman has been plagued by injuries in recent seasons. Since rupturing his Achilles in April 2024, he's played just 33 times, struggling on loan at Standard Liege upon his return and then again last year when he returned to Southampton as number one to start the campaign.

To make matters worse, after being loaned out to Stoke City midway through the 2025/26 season with the sole goal of getting back to full fitness and regaining his confidence, he missed six weeks through injury following his debut.

He won't be first choice back at St Mary's this year, especially with Daniel Peretz making his loan move permanent, but a big campaign will be needed elsewhere to get back on track to realising his big potential coming out of the Manchester City academy.

7 ? ? Viktor Johansson - £25,000 p/w

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Bazunu's loan to Stoke last year came in the wake of a serious shoulder injury to star keeper Viktor Johansson, and many attribute the Potters' slide down the table from early promotion contenders last season to the Swede's absence.

The 27-year-old is highly regarded as one of the best shot-stoppers in the division, and the fact that Stoke were able to tie him down to a four-year deal over the summer shows their intent to finally leave mid-table mediocrity behind and mount a long-awaited play-off run this year.

Johansson still managed eight clean sheets in 25 Championship appearances last season. If he can stay healthy throughout the whole year, Mark Robins' side could be dark horses for a top eight spot.

6 ? ? Ivo Grbic - £25,000 p/w

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Michael Cooper isn't estimated to be the highest-paid goalkeeper at Sheffield United, per Capology. Indeed, forgotten man Ivo Grbic is still on the books at Bramall Lane, and is said to be earning £25,000 per week.

The Croatian hasn't played a league game for the Blades since the 2023/24 campaign, and on August 13, it'll have been two years since he played for the club, appearing in a 4-2 EFL Cup win over Wrexham in 2024.

Since then, he's spent time on loan in Turkey, playing for Rizespor and Karagumruk across the last two seasons, keeping a combined 10 clean sheets.

With the Blades needing to recoup money this summer due to their lack of Premier League parachute payments, perhaps Grbic will be someone they'll look to move on this month.

5

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Max Weiss arrived at Burnley last summer to play second-choice to veteran keeper Martin Dubravka, but this season, he's set to make that step-up and be the starting keeper for Nicky Hayen's side.

The young German got his taste of Premier League football in the final few games of last season and was relatively solid, especially on the final day against Wolves.

Only time will tell whether the 22-year-old will be able to deal with the demands of playing week in, week out in the Championship, and the pressures of being a top-five goalkeeper in the salary ranks.

4 ? ? Mads Hermansen - £45,000 p/w

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With the financial capital of both Wolves and West Ham United, it's not a surprise to see the top four in this specific list being dominated by not just their first-choice, but reserve goalkeepers, too.

Mads Hermansen will definitely be the number one for the Hammers this season. The Danish shot-stopper emerged as Nuno Espirito Santo's preferred keeper in the final few months of their Premier League campaign, which coincided with an upturn in form.

The 26-year-old kept seven clean sheets in 18 top-flight outings, which is a solid return, and one that perhaps makes you wonder why no top-flight side has been pushing to bring him in this summer.

From a West Ham perspective, they'll be hoping that interest never comes, as they look to bring Hermansen his second Championship title in four seasons.

3 ? ? Sam Johnstone - £50,000 p/w

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Dan Bentley has been the preferred Wolves goalkeeper in the latter stages of pre-season, and while that may not remain the case come September 1, it does mean that, while third on this list at an estimated £50,000 per week, Sam Johnstone may be on his way out of Molineux.

The 33-year-old has past success in the Championship with the likes of Aston Villa and West Brom, but his recent seasons at Crystal Palace and now at Wolves have almost solidified him as a solid backup option at top-flight level.