The Premier League’s highest paid stoppers? We find three overpaid defenders sitting on the bench in the top five

Many stoppers top English clubs have to overpay to get them. A great example of this is Harry Maguire or Kalidou Koulibaly, who are some of the highest paid players in the Premier League while sitting on the bench. What does the top 20 highest paid players in the English top flight look like?

16. – 20th place

17. James Tarkowski (Everton) – £100,000 a week

17. Diego Carlos (Aston Villa) – £100k per week

17. Joel Matip (Liverpool) – £100k per week

17. Jonny Evans (Leicester City) – £100k per week

16. Thiago Silva (Chelsea) – £110k per week

Among the highest paid players we can also find Thiago Silva, who just a short while ago signed a contract with Chelsea until 2024 at the age of 38. The Brazilian stopper has formed a new stopper duo with Benoît Badiashil, this duo has not let anyone score in 3 league games.

11. – 15th place

11. Ben White (Arsenal) – £120k a week

11. Yerry Mina (Everton) – £120k per week

11. Victor Lindelof (Manchester United) – £120k per week

11. Lisandro Martínez (Manchester United) – £120k per week

11. Aymeric Laporte (Manchester City) – £120k per week

The sum of £120k per week goes to these five stoppers, some of whom are an essential part of the starting line-up – Martínez and White, and someone who sits on the bench – Lindelof.

Between 10th and 15th we find two Manchester United stoppers, of whom their contribution to the team could not be more contrasting. However, we will find an even bigger difference if we climb higher in the rankings.

6. – 10th place

10. Kurt Zouma (West Ham United) – £125,000 per week

9. Clement Lenglet (Tottenham) – £145k a week

8. Cristian Romero (Tottenham) – £165k per week

=6. Manuel Akanji (Manchester City) – £180k per week

=6. Rúben Dias (Manchester City) – £180k per week

The pair of Laporte and Dias used to be the impregnable rock of coach Pep Guardiola’s team, however, times are changing and due to injuries and the arrival of Akanji, the Spanish coach is now relying more on other players.

However, Manchester City have 5 great players at the stopper position, which is of course proven by the long-term defensive statistics of this team, which has won 4 times out of the last 5 league seasons.

1. – 5th place

5. Harry Maguire (Manchester United) – £190k per week

4. Wesley Fofana (Chelsea) – £200k per week

3. Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool) – £220k per week

2. Kalidou Koulibaly (Chelsea) – £295k per week

1. Raphael Varane (Manchester United) – £340k per week

Compared to the previous players, this is where we find the biggest bizarros. The very biggest one is of course Maguire’s salary, which until recently was the second highest amongst stoppers. It’s no wonder, therefore, that everyone has been teasing Manchester United for some time now.

But just as impressive is the salary of Fofana, who, like the English stopper, transferred from Leicester. If nothing else, the French defender is at least promising as he is still 22 years old.

But it’s much worse in the case of Koulibaly, whom the Blues are overpaying a lot. Moreover, the 31-year-old stopper is not playing now and no one would be surprised if he leaves in the summer. For the Senegalese midfielder, it’s a shame that Napoli didn’t let him into the Premier League sooner.

The highest paid stopper in the English top flight is then Varane, who has formed a solid stopper duo with Martínez, relegating the aforementioned Maguire – Lindelof pairing to the back burner.

Source: Premier League, Givemesport