Leeds United: Which player are 49ers Enterprises estimated to be paying the most weekly? | OneFootball

FLW outline the top earner at Leeds United.

Many fantastic players have come and gone at Leeds United over the years, and that hasn't changed despite now being a Championship club for another year, which, naturally, will make them high earners at Elland Road.

Daniel Farke has had to undergo plenty of changes in the last two summer windows. Naturally, relegation and then failure to gain promotion saw top earners depart, with the likes of Rodrigo, Tyler Adams, Robin Koch, Marc Roca, and Georginio Rutter among the top players to have exited the club over the last two summer windows.

The Whites required changes, in part due to needing to raise funds and cut their cloth accordingly, but also due to the need to trim the wage bill after falling into and remaining in the second tier. However, Leeds have also recruited well in the past two windows to bring in quality.

The 49ers have had to operate in difficult circumstances after inheriting situations which hamstrung them last summer, with loan clauses proving to be a frustration. This summer, it was release clauses that allowed the likes of Crysencio Summerville and Georginio Rutter to depart.

Leeds' 2024/25 ambition under Daniel Farke and the 49ers

Leeds have used the money raised from those big-money sales to add both good players and experienced EFL players, but also have a fairly streamlined squad of 23 first-team players, having had a clear out. Joe Rodon, Jayden Bogle Manor Solomon, Largie Ramazani, and Ao Tanaka are perhaps the most eye-catching players to come in and bolster their ranks.

That will hopefully give Farke the required reinforcements to be competitive at the right end of the division. The objective now, as always from the ambitious 49ers this season, is to gain promotion to the Premier League and there will be real disappointment if the club fail to do so this time around.

He saw the likes of Rutter, Archie Gray, Glen Kamara, and Crysencio Summerville leave West Yorkshire, with each of them playing a huge amount of minutes and proving their worth during the 2023/24 campaign. Replacing their quality and availability was likely to prove difficult, but Leeds are in good hands again this season.

Farke is a two-time winner of the second tier and has a group of players where many of the recent signings are likely to be among the club's best players and top earners in the Championship; but here, we take a look at who is the highest paid player Leeds and the 49ers are currently paying.

Per Capology, Patrick Bamford is Leeds' highest-paid player, just ahead of the likes of Junior Firpo, Pascal Struijk, and Dan James. His estimated weekly wage is £70,000, with other top earners around the £50k-60k mark. The ambition of the club's ownership is reflected by having one of the largest wage bills in the division.

Bamford's resurgence at the back end of last season was timely in the months of January through to March. He had suffered from a loss of fitness and form in the last couple of seasons prior to that.

The 31-year-old was earning England call-ups off the back of a 17-goal Premier League season haul not long ago, and injuries have since caught up with him; but his wage reflects what was a successful period a couple of years ago.

Although, it is unclear how accurate that is following relegation, with Phil Hay of The Athletic reporting in the aftermath of relegation that "Leeds are protected by significant clauses inserted into every player’s contract, which will see wages fall by a minimum of 50 percent and maximum of 60 percent" in the event of dropping down a division.

Bamford still has his part to play for Leeds in the second tier this season, as the direct analogue for Mateo Joseph in Leeds' forward line. The 31-year-old's ability to bring others into play so that the ball isn’t constantly turned over has been more important for the team structurally and cohesively for many years now.

However, his injuries and lack of a killer eye for goal consistently lets him down. His wages were once justifiable, but not now in the Championship, despite how crucial his ability to hold the ball up and run the channels can be when spearheading an attack.

He has evidently declined since 2021, but Bamford deserved his wage at the time for those years of service in helping achieve promotion and finishing ninth in the Premier League, too. His contract at Elland Road ends in 2026, though, which leaves Leeds in a difficult position with a big earner on their bench.