The British transfer record was shattered twice by Chelsea last year with the signings of Enzo Fernandes and Moisés Caicedo, costing the Blues a staggering total of £221.8 million. Meanwhile, Manchester United was found to have overpaid by £208 millionon transfers over the last decade. 

Footballers are often blasted for their exorbitant wages, but are they really worth the money? Intrigued, the football experts at Ticketgum scoured the wage data for each Premier League player and compared with their performance in the Premier League 23/24 season to determine which players are contributing the most and least value to their teams.

Ranked: Premier League teams with the best and worst value for money players

Rank

Premier League team

Best value for money player

Worst value for money player

Final value for money score (/10)

1

Luton Town

Teden Mengi (Defender) - pic.

Marvelous Nakamba (Midfield)

8.45

2

Sheffield Utd

Yasser Larouci (Defender)

Vinicius Souza (Midfield)

8.23

3

Brentford

Kevin Schade (Forward)

Keane Lewis-Potter (Forward)

8.09

4

Burnley

Jordan Beyer (Defender)

Aaron Ramsey (Forward)

8.00

5

Bournemouth

Kieffer Moore (Forward)

Justin Kluivert (Forward)

7.76

6

Brighton

Jan Paul van Hecke (Defender)

Lewis Dunk (Defender)

7.26

7

Fulham

Tom Cairney (Midfield)

Saša Lukić (Midfield)

7.19

8=

Newcastle Utd

Lewis Miley (Midfield)

Kieran Trippier (Defender)

7.09

8=

Wolves

Hugo Bueno (Defender)

Matt Doherty (Midfield)

7.09

10

Nottingham Forest

Harry Toffolo (Defender)

Divock Origi (Forward)

6.96

11

Tottenham

Pape Matar Sarr (Midfield)

Cristian Romero (Defender)

6.92

12

Everton

Nathan Patterson (Defender)

Amadou Onana (Midfield)

6.63

13

Crystal Palace

Sam Johnstone (Goalkeeper)

Chris Richards (Midfield)

6.34

14

Liverpool

Curtis Jones (Midfield)

Trent Alexander-Arnold (Defender)

5.84

15

West Ham

Vladimír Coufal (Defender)

Danny Ings (Forward)

5.72

16

Aston Villa

Jhon Durán (Forward)

Leander Dendoncker (Midfield)

5.52

17

Chelsea

Conor Gallagher (Midfield)

Ben Chilwell (Defender)

5.42

18

Arsenal

Fabio Vieira (Midfield)

William Saliba (Defender)

5.04

19

Manchester Utd

Facundo Pellistri (Forward)

Mason Mount (Midfield)

4.96

20

Manchester City

Oscar Bobb (Midfield)

John Stones (Midfield)

4.67

*The final value for money score is calculated based on each player’s salary, time played, and contributions in their respective positions, and finally applying an average percentrank across all players of the same club to obtain a team score

Scoring an impressive 8.45/10, Luton Town has the best value for money players. The entire squad collectively earns £19,240,000 annually - nearly equivalent to the individual salary of Man City’s Erling Haaland at £19,500,000. Notably, the Hatters’ coveted 21-year-old defender Teden Mengi averages around four clearances and four tackles per 90 minutes, while earning a substantial 94% less than Tottenham’s Cristian Romero, who delivered a similar performance.

Trailing behind in second is Sheffield United with a commendable value for money score of 8.23/10. Defender Yasser Larouci contributes the most value (9.72/10) to the Saudi-owned club, followed by goalkeeper Wes Foderingham (9.35/10), who saved an impressive 77 shots throughout the 23/24 season - the highest among all Premier League keepers despite earning the least (£650,000).

In third is Brentford (8.09/10), with forward Kevin Schade (9.69/10) and goalkeeper Mark Flekken (9.24/10), standing out for their exceptional value for money performances for The Bees.

Crowned the biggest overspenders on transfer fees, Manchester United (4.96/10) rounds off the bottom two spots alongside Manchester City (4.67/10). Both teams' worst investments were revealed to be midfielders Mason Mount (Man Utd) and John Stones (Man City) who performed underwhelmingly this season, averaging 3.41 and 2.20 progressive passes per 90 minutes, respectively.