How Jake Clarke-Salter's wages at QPR compare to the best Championship defenders | OneFootball

We have looked at Clarke-Salter's earnings against some of the best in his position in the second-tier

Queens Park Rangers defender Jake Clarke-Salter has struggled with injuries this season, but has proven himself as one of the best centre-backs in the Championship over recent years at Loftus Road.

Clarke-Salter spent his youth career on Chelsea's books, and made his professional debut for the Blues in 2016 before numerous loan spells with Bristol Rovers, Vitesse, Sunderland, Coventry City and Birmingham City.

The South London born centre-back was able to gain vital EFL experience in his multiple seasons in the West Midlands with Coventry and Birmingham, but eventually escaped the Stamford Bridge loan system at the end of his contract to join QPR on a permanent deal in June 2022.

27-year-old Clarke-Salter has played over 60 times for the Hoops in the last two-and-a-half seasons, and despite his struggles with injuries, he was rated at around £10 million by QPR amid interest from Wolverhampton Wanderers last summer, before he went on to sign a new long-term deal in September.

Jake Clarke-Salter's weekly wages at QPR compared to the best Championship defenders

According to wage estimation site Capology, Clarke-Salter earns around £10,000 per week at QPR as it stands, which works out at £520,000 every year and makes him the joint-eighth highest earner at Loftus Road.

That is a relatively lesser figure when compared to some of the second tier's top defenders for this campaign. Leeds United look set to return to the Premier League as Championship champions this season, with Junior Firpo currently on an estimated salary of £60,000 per week, and Joe Rodon and Pascal Struijk on a reported £40,000 and £50,000 per week respectively.

Burnley boast one of the most impressive defensive records in second-tier history this term, and standout centre-backs such as CJ Egan-Riley and Maxime Esteve each earn a similar amount to Clarke-Salter, with an estimated £6,000 and 15,000 per week respectively.

Sheffield United are also well in the race for promotion, with Anel Ahmedhodzic currently on a weekly wage of around £30,000, and impressive left-back Harrison Burrows earning £12,500 each week after his summer move from Peterborough United, according to Capology.

The best of the rest in terms of defenders from the second-tier includes Millwall man Japhet Tanganga, who is the Lions' top-earner on around £35,000, then Sunderland players Dennis Cirkin and Chris Mepham, who each earn a respective estimate of £10,000 and £35,000, as well as Middlesbrough man Rav Van Den Berg who has a weekly wage of just £2,000, according to Capology.

Jake Clarke-Salter's earnings throughout his career up to now

Clarke-Salter's current earnings are believed to be the highest of his career so far after he initially started out on an estimated £1,500 each week at Chelsea as a 17-year-old in 2015/16.

Capology then state that his weekly earnings took a jump to £5,000 while he was on loan at Sunderland in the Championship in 2017/18, but then actually took a slight dip to around £4,685 each week when he joined Vitesse for the following campaign.

He signed a new deal at Chelsea in the summer of 2019, but his estimated earnings returned to a base level of £5,000 every week for his two loan seasons at Championship outfit Birmingham in 2019/20 and 2020/21.

Clarke-Salter's final Blues loan move to Coventry saw another increase in his weekly wages to around £8,077, according to Capology, but then he joined QPR on a four-year contract ahead of the 2022/23 campaign, with an estimated £10,000 earned each week at Loftus Road.

The 27-year-old signed another long-term deal in W12 last September, but Capology has not reported of any increase to his wages as yet, which seems a surprise given his quality, age and previous transfer interest from other clubs.