The 10 highest-paid new Premier League signings of 2023-24: Arsenal & Chelsea dominate…
Premier League clubs have spent big this summer in preparation for the 2023-24 season, with the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United signing players on huge weekly wages.
While Manchester City are sitting in a position of strength after last season’s treble, and Chelsea focusing more on selling players, each club still makes an appearance in the top 10, alongside cash-rich Newcastle United.
We’ve taken a look through the figures on Capology and put together this top 10 in order of their weekly wages.
=7. Mateo Kovacic (Man City, £150k)
With the departure of Ilkay Gundogan, Manchester City required a technically competent midfielder, able to perform against any opponents, without having to debase themselves by selecting Kalvin Phillips.
Luckily, Kovacic was available after expressing his desire to leave Chelsea. The two clubs thrashed out a strangely low-key deal and the Croatia international will now be reinvented as an inverted centre-back by Pep Guardiola. Probably.
=7. Youri Tielemans (Aston Villa, £150k)
Leicester City’s relegation meant the inevitable departure of their star players; James Maddison scooted away to Spurs, while Harvey Barnes chose Champions League football at Newcastle.
Having been linked with his own move away for years, Tielemans left the King Power at the end of his contract in May and travelled across the Midlands to sign for upwardly mobile Aston Villa.
The lack of a transfer fee perhaps explains the hefty weekly wage given to Tielemans, but Villa have signed a classy Premier League operator.
This is amazing insight! 🤩
Watch Youri Tielemans' @AVFCOfficial debut from his point of view…#PLSummerSeries pic.twitter.com/rXzFv7kXjm
— Premier League (@premierleague) July 26, 2023
=7. Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool, £150k)
After an incredible breakthrough season in 2022-23, shining at Brighton and winning the World Cup with Argentina, Mac Allister was expected to be at the centre of a summer-long transfer saga between England’s richest clubs.
Instead, Liverpool had wrapped up his signature by the beginning of June.
Tantalisingly, the 24-year-old has been given the No. 10 shirt at Anfield. If he matches the exploits of its previous owner, Sadio Mane, then Mac Allister will have earnt his £150,000 weekly wage.
=7. Moises Caicedo (Chelsea, £150k)
After paying a British record transfer fee of £115million, following a hilarious tug-of-war with Liverpool, Chelsea weren’t going to be paying Caicedo a weekly wage of peanuts.
The Ecuador international will be taking home £150,000 at Stamford Bridge. Plenty of Premier League giants will be kicking themselves for not picking up Caicedo earlier…
READ: Recalling the time Man Utd could’ve signed Moises Caicedo for just €5m
6. Christopher Nkunku (Chelsea, £195k)
The latest big-money signing to attempt the (almost) impossible challenge of breaking Chelsea’s striker curse, Nkunku arrives in England with a prolific goalscoring record at RB Leipzig and bags of potential – which is reflected in his pay packet.
But the France international is out for an ‘extended period’ with a knee injury and isn’t expected to play until the end of October. Let’s hope he’s worth the wait.
5. Josko Gvardiol (Man City, £200k)
Guardiola has developed something of a craving for centre-backs, regularly fielding four across his defence last season, and the signing of Gvardiol continues that trend.
Costing £77.6million from Leipzig, the Croatia international is widely considered one of the best defenders in world football and is still only 21. City have signed another monster.
4. Sandro Tonali (Newcastle, £210k)
With Champions League football returning to Tyneside for the first time since 2003, Newcastle were expected to be busy in this summer’s transfer window.
While that hasn’t quite come to pass, the signing of Tonali looks to be a huge statement of intent.
After spending £68.5million to lure the midfielder from AC Milan, social media was ablaze with footage of Tonali looking less than pleased to have arrived at Newcastle.
We’re sure he’s just got a resting b*tch face and demonstrated his class with a drool-inducing debut performance against Aston Villa.
Sandro's off the mark! 🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/O5WNkHMO1w
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) August 12, 2023
3. Declan Rice (Arsenal, £240k)
Brilliant player, eye-watering transfer fee.
In this seller’s market, it was always likely to cost a pretty penny to prise Rice away from Europa Conference League winners West Ham. But £105million instantly places a new level of expectation on the midfielder’s shoulders.
Still, the 24-year-old is a potentially world-class operator (if he isn’t already), and is being paid accordingly.
READ: An astonishingly good Premier League XI that cost less than Arsenal paid for Declan Rice
2. Mason Mount (Man Utd, £250k)
At the age of 24, Mount has won the Champions League, been named Chelsea’s Player of the Year on two separate occasions and won 36 caps for England. This is all worth restating after the monstering he’s taken on social media from disgruntled Chelsea supporters.
His move away from Stamford Bridge felt sadly inevitable for months, but United have signed the kind of player that’ll raise the floor at Old Trafford – in theory.
If he can regain the form of two years ago, his weekly wage of £250k will seem like relative peanuts.
1. Kai Havertz (Arsenal, £280k)
After last season’s title challenge withered once the clocks went forward, Arsenal have certainly put their money where their mouth is this summer.
Havertz, who was desperate to leave Chelsea after three erratic seasons, is the kind of player who could take his game to another level under Mikel Arteta.
And it’s that potential, alongside scoring the winner in an actual Champions League final, that sees Havertz become the highest-paid new signing in the Premier League.
READ NEXT: A former Premier League XI we can’t believe are still playing in 2023
TRY A QUIZ: Can you name every Premier League club’s record signing?