Wrexham are preparing for life in the Championship, but so too are Southampton, Leicester City, and Ipswich Town, so how do the three relegated sides compare to the Red Dragons?
We all know Wrexham are in a fairly strong financial situation, at least by the standards of the lower leagues in the EFL, but the Championship will be a very different level in more ways than one.
The newfound revenue in the Championship, from TV rights and EFL payments, will significantly boost Wrexham’s budget, with between £9-12m expected to come their way as a result of playing in the second tier.
Wrexham are going to need to recruit wisely, and in great numbers, too, in order to create a squad capable of competing with the big boys in the Championship.
Speaking of, the likes of Leicester City, Ipswich, and Southampton will be looking to bounce straight back next season, so we took a look at just how far apart Wrexham are to the recently-relegated teams in terms of financial muscle.
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What we know about Wrexham’s wage bill and transfer budget
As far as we know, Wrexham could well max out their £39m allowance in the Championship next season and remain in line with PSR guidelines. Whether they will or not is another matter.
But, if we look at this season alone, we can learn a lot about the disparity between the Red Dragons and their new rivals.
In terms of wages, as per Wrexham’s accounts for the last year, it was said the club spent £11m on player salaries.
The estimated weekly wage bill comes in at around £205,200. As per Salary Sport, the top earners at Wrexham are George Dobson and George Evans, both on £7,200 per week, while James McClean and Jack Marriott are not far behind on £6,100 each.
| Player | Weekly wage | Annual salary |
| George Dobson | £7,200 | £374,400 |
| George Evans | £7,200 | £374,400 |
| James McClean | £6,100 | £317,200 |
| Jack Marriott | £6,100 | £317,200 |
| Paul Mullin | £5,800 | £301,600 |
| Steven Fletcher | £5,600 | £291,200 |
| Andy Cannon | £5,500 | £286,000 |
| Will Boyle | £5,400 | £280,800 |
| Eoghan O’Connell | £5,300 | £275,600 |
| Oliver Rathbone | £4,800 | £249,600 |
| Ollie Palmer | £4,800 | £249,600 |
| Seb Revan | £4,600 | £239,200 |
| Elliot Lee | £4,300 | £223,600 |
| Luke Bolton | £4,000 | £208,000 |
| Thomas O’Connor | £3,600 | £187,200 |
| Dan Scarr | £3,400 | £176,800 |
| Ryan Barnett | £2,700 | £140,400 |
| Arthur Okonkwo | £2,500 | £130,000 |
| Jacob Mendy | £2,100 | £109,200 |
| Lewis Brunt | £2,000 | £104,000 |
| Mo Faal | £1,900 | £98,800 |
| Mark Howard | £1,900 | £98,800 |
| Callum Burton | £1,400 | £72,800 |
| Josh Adam | £1,100 | £57,200 |
| Liam Hall | £790 | £41,080 |
| Max Cleworth | £730 | £37,960 |
Of course, those figures should be taken with a pinch of salt, as accurate numbers are very rarely released when it comes to player wages.
This data also doesn’t include the likes of Jay Rodriguez, Ryan Longman, and Sam Smith, who all signed in January. All three are likely to be in the upper reaches of that wage bill, if not at the very top.
As for transfer budgets, well, we know that Wrexham spent £2m on Smith, another £500,000 on Longman, taking their spend for the 2024/25 campaign to around £4.1m in total.
That’s a lot for League One standards, but as you may have guessed, it’s a million miles away from Premier League spending levels.
- READ MORE: Wrexham’s transfer strategy has to drastically change if they want to survive in the Championship
What’s the financial situation at the relegated Premier League clubs?
Leicester City spent around £76m on signings over the course of last summer and in January, with the likes of Oliver Skipp (£20m), Bilal El Khannouss (£19m), and Issahaku Fatawu (£13.5m) racking up that spending dramatically.
Ipswich Town spent the most, though, by quite some distance. The Tractor Boys splashed out a whopping £130m on signings throughout this season, including £20m deals for Omari Hutchinson and Jaden Philogene, £14m apiece on Liam Delap and Jack Clarke, and a further £18m on Jacob Greaves.
| Club | 2024/25 Transfer spend | 2024/25 Wage Bill |
| Wrexham | £4.1m | £11m |
| Ipswich Town | £130m | £41m |
| Leicester City | £76m | £70m |
| Southampton | £102m | £54m |
Southampton were not far behind, spending just over £102m. The Saints signed Taylor Harwood-Bellis (£20m), Aaron Ramsdale (£19m), and paid over £14m each for Flynn Downes and Cameron Archer.
As for wage bills, again, it’s hard to know for sure, but data from Spotrac tells us Southampton spent over £54m in wages across the year, while Leicester spent a huge £70m, and Ipswich paid out a little over £40m.
As we said, there is a huge difference between Wrexham and the world of Premier League money and parachute payments. That’s something Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds will need to combat as quickly as possible this summer and try to bridge that gap.
Humphrey Ker admitted Wrexham need a lot of money to compete, and fans should perhaps be braced for a few years of adjustment and evolution before the next promotion party.