Taking a look at Birmingham City’s wage bill ahead of the upcoming Championship campaign
Birmingham City have had a busy summer transfer window as they prepare for the upcoming Championship campaign.
The Blues will be aiming to compete at a higher level over the next year after earning a 17th place finish last season.
John Eustace earned a lot of credit for the work he did to lead Birmingham away from any kind of threat of relegation.
A takeover of the club has been completed in recent months, meaning this term will also be the start of a new era for the Championship side.
The new owners have overseen a decent level of spending relative to their rivals.
The likes of Dion Sanderson, Lee Buchanan, Ethan Laird and Tyler Roberts have all been signed for transfer fees, as well as Siriki Dembele and Krystian Bielik.
What is the estimated annual wage bill at Birmingham City?
Koji Miyoshi and Keshi Anderson have both also joined the first team squad during the off-season.
This will have had a big impact on the wage bill at St. Andrew’s, especially as a number of players have also departed the club.
Here we look at what the wage bill looks like going into the 2023-24 Championship season, with estimated figures taken via Capology…
The current wage bill is worth £8.8 million on an annual basis, with the average player amounting to £353,520 per year.
This does not include the new players that have arrived at St. Andrew’s, meaning that this figure is set to rise once the window closes at the end of the next month.
The annual wage bill at Birmingham was worth £14.2 million in the previous campaign, so this figure could easily rise based on the number of arrivals that have joined Eustace’s side.
The departures of the likes of Jobe Bellingham will also make some impact on the size of the club’s wage expenditure.
Tahith Chong was the highest earner in the first team squad last year, making £30,000 a week, but he has also left after an agreement with Luton Town was reached earlier this summer.
Who is the highest earner in the Birmingham City wage bill?
Chong’s replacement at the top of the wage bill is Bielik, who is earning £20,000 a week.
That means the wage structure at Birmingham has remained relatively intact following the arrival of new owners.
It remains to be seen what the new signings are earning, or if any of them exceed this £20,000 a week figure, but the club has gained a lot by the finances involved in Chong’s departure.
The forward also netted the Championship side a transfer fee that is reportedly worth £4 million, which has helped alleviate the spending of new signings.
Other high earners in the Birmingham squad this summer are Juninho Bacuna, Ivan Sunjic and Neil Etheridge.
The trio earn weekly wages worth £17,885 and £17,500 respectively.
If Birmingham are to climb the ranks of the Championship then a higher wage bill will have to come as a result.
However, supporters will be wary of overspending, which has previously put the club in a difficult position financially.
This will be an interesting tightrope for the new owners to manage in the coming years.
