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LEAGUE ONE · MIDFIELDERS · 2026/27

Highest paid League One midfielders

Boubakary Soumaré is the best-paid midfielder in League One, on £58,000 a week at Leicester City, or £3,016,000 a year. John Lundstram is next on £52,000 at Leicester City. We hold wages for 290 League One midfielders in 2026/27.

BEST PAID £58k
AVERAGE WAGE £6,405
SHARE OF WAGE BILL22%
TOP 10 A WEEK £278k
WAGES HELD290

The 50 best-paid League One midfielders

Weekly wage, 2026/27. A player who plays in two areas of the pitch is on both lists, at the full wage.

The best-paid midfielders in League One in 2026/27, ranked by weekly wage, with the yearly wage, club, age, position and nationality.
# PLAYER WEEKLY YEARLY CLUB AGE POSITION NATION
1 Boubakary Soumaré £58,000£58k £3,016,000£3.0m Leicester City 26 Defensive midfielder France
2 John Lundstram £52,000£52k £2,704,000£2.7m Leicester City 31 Defensive midfielder England
3 Oliver Skipp £49,000£49k £2,548,000£2.5m Leicester City 24 Defensive midfielder England
4 Barry Bannan £23,000£23k £1,196,000£1.2m Sheffield Wednesday 35 Defensive midfielder Scotland
5 Daniel Barlaser £20,000£20k £1,040,000£1.0m Milton Keynes Dons 28 Defensive midfielder England
6 Ben Osborn £19,000£19k £988,000£988k Stockport County 30 Left wing-back, defensive midfielder England
7 Isaac Hayden £16,000£16k £832,000£832k Leyton Orient 30 Defensive midfielder England
8 Cameron Brannagan £16,000£16k £832,000£832k Oxford United 29 Defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder England
9 Liam Palmer £15,000£15k £780,000£780k Sheffield Wednesday 33 Centre-back, defensive midfielder Scotland
10 Louis Page £10,000£10k £520,000£520k Leicester City 17 Defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder England
11 Marcus McGuane £9,000£9k £468,000£468k Huddersfield Town 26 Defensive midfielder England
12 Cameron Humphreys £8,400£8k £436,800£437k Huddersfield Town 21 Defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder England
13 Callum Paterson £8,400£8k £436,800£437k Milton Keynes Dons 30 Right wing-back, right midfielder, striker Scotland
14 Hakeem Odoffin £8,200£8k £426,400£426k Luton Town 27 Centre-back, defensive midfielder England
15 Jamie McDonnell £8,100£8k £421,200£421k Oxford United 21 Defensive midfielder Northern Ireland
16 Kal Naismith £8,000£8k £416,000£416k Luton Town 33 Centre-back, defensive midfielder Scotland
17 Ryan Wintle £8,000£8k £416,000£416k Milton Keynes Dons 28 Defensive midfielder England
18 Lewis Wing £8,000£8k £416,000£416k Reading 30 Defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder England
19 Lewis Bate £8,000£8k £416,000£416k Stockport County 22 Defensive midfielder England
20 Oliver Norwood £7,800£8k £405,600£406k Stockport County 34 Defensive midfielder Northern Ireland
21 Shandon Baptiste £7,600£8k £395,200£395k Luton Town 27 Defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder Grenada
22 Bradley Ibrahim £7,500£8k £390,000£390k Plymouth Argyle 20 Defensive midfielder England
23 Billy Mitchell £7,500£8k £390,000£390k Sheffield Wednesday 24 Defensive midfielder England
24 Aaron Morley £7,500£8k £390,000£390k Wycombe Wanderers 25 Defensive midfielder England
25 Herbie Kane £7,200£7k £374,400£374k Plymouth Argyle 26 Defensive midfielder England
26 Leighton Clarkson £7,000£7k £364,000£364k Blackpool 23 Defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder England
27 Ryan Ledson £6,700£7k £348,400£348k Huddersfield Town 27 Defensive midfielder England
28 Callum Connolly £6,400£6k £332,800£333k Bradford City 27 Centre-back, defensive midfielder England
29 David Kasumu £6,400£6k £332,800£333k Huddersfield Town 25 Right wing-back, defensive midfielder Nigeria
30 Caolan Boyd-Munce £6,400£6k £332,800£333k Wycombe Wanderers 25 Defensive midfielder Northern Ireland
31 Idris El Mizouni £6,100£6k £317,200£317k Leyton Orient 24 Defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder Tunisia
32 Jay Matete £6,100£6k £317,200£317k Milton Keynes Dons 24 Defensive midfielder England
33 Karoy Anderson £6,000£6k £312,000£312k Blackpool 20 Central midfielder Jamaica
34 Liam Walsh £6,000£6k £312,000£312k Luton Town 27 Central midfielder England
35 Malachi Boateng £5,900£6k £306,800£307k Plymouth Argyle 23 Defensive midfielder England
36 Thomas O'Connor £5,600£6k £291,200£291k Peterborough United 26 Centre-back, defensive midfielder Ireland
37 Tyler Onyango £5,600£6k £291,200£291k Sheffield Wednesday 22 Centre-back, defensive midfielder England
38 Terry Taylor £5,600£6k £291,200£291k Stevenage 24 Defensive midfielder Wales
39 Andy Rinomhota £5,500£6k £286,000£286k Reading 28 Right-back, defensive midfielder Zimbabwe
40 Callum Camps £5,400£5k £280,800£281k Stockport County 29 Defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder Northern Ireland
41 Eoghan O'Connell £5,300£5k £275,600£276k Stockport County 29 Centre-back, defensive midfielder Ireland
42 George Evans £5,200£5k £270,400£270k Burton Albion 30 Centre-back, defensive midfielder England
43 Jordan Brown £5,100£5k £265,200£265k Blackpool 24 Right-back, defensive midfielder England
44 Josh Scowen £5,100£5k £265,200£265k Wycombe Wanderers 32 Defensive midfielder England
45 Luca Connell £5,000£5k £260,000£260k Barnsley 24 Defensive midfielder Ireland
46 Liam Thompson £5,000£5k £260,000£260k Mansfield Town 23 Defensive midfielder England
47 Liam Fraser £5,000£5k £260,000£260k Reading 27 Defensive midfielder Canada
48 Luke Leahy £5,000£5k £260,000£260k Wycombe Wanderers 32 Defensive midfielder England
49 Owen Moxon £4,800£5k £249,600£250k Cambridge United 27 Defensive midfielder England
50 Ryan Trevitt £4,700£5k £244,400£244k Wigan Athletic 22 Defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder England

What each position earns in League One

Average weekly wage of the players aged 22 or over we hold a wage for

Goalkeepers £5,034 Defenders £5,700 Midfielders £6,405 Attackers £5,492

Midfielders take 22% of what League One pays its players of that age. The four shares add up to the whole bill, because a player who plays in two areas gives half the wage to each.

The clubs that pay their midfielders the most

Every midfielder wage we hold at each League One club, added together, a week

Leicester City £178k Sheffield Wednesday £58k Stockport County £55k Milton Keynes Dons £46k Huddersfield Town £39k Luton Town £36k Leyton Orient £32k Wycombe Wanderers £32k Plymouth Argyle £32k Oxford United £31k

Leicester City pay 13 midfielders £177,540 a week between them, and Boubakary Soumaré takes 33% of it.

The best-paid midfielder at every League One club

24 clubs, 2026/27, with where each ranks among the league's midfielders

Each League One club's best-paid midfielder in 2026/27, the weekly wage, and that player's rank among every midfielder in the league.
CLUB PLAYER WEEKLY RANK
Leicester City Boubakary Soumaré £58,000£58k 1
Sheffield Wednesday Barry Bannan £23,000£23k 4
Milton Keynes Dons Daniel Barlaser £20,000£20k 5
Stockport County Ben Osborn £19,000£19k 6
Leyton Orient Isaac Hayden £16,000£16k 7
Oxford United Cameron Brannagan £16,000£16k 8
Huddersfield Town Marcus McGuane £9,000£9k 11
Luton Town Hakeem Odoffin £8,200£8k 14
Reading Lewis Wing £8,000£8k 18
Wycombe Wanderers Aaron Morley £7,500£8k 24
Plymouth Argyle Bradley Ibrahim £7,500£8k 22
Blackpool Leighton Clarkson £7,000£7k 26
Bradford City Callum Connolly £6,400£6k 28
Stevenage Terry Taylor £5,600£6k 38
Peterborough United Thomas O'Connor £5,600£6k 36
Burton Albion George Evans £5,200£5k 42
Mansfield Town Liam Thompson £5,000£5k 46
Barnsley Luca Connell £5,000£5k 45
Cambridge United Owen Moxon £4,800£5k 49
Wigan Athletic Ryan Trevitt £4,700£5k 50
Notts County Dean Campbell £4,400£4k 59
Bromley Ben Thompson £3,500£4k 76
AFC Wimbledon Dan Sweeney £3,400£3k 79
Doncaster Rovers George Broadbent £3,200£3k 83

The best-paid midfielder in every men's league

43 leagues, ordered by their best-paid midfielder. League One ranks 17th.

The best-paid midfielder in each men's league we rank midfielders in, the weekly wage, and the league's average midfielder wage over players aged 22 or over.
LEAGUE BEST PAID WEEKLY AVERAGE
Saudi Pro League Otávio £472,000£472k £49,687£50k
Süper Lig N'Golo Kanté £348,000£348k £21,488£21k
Bundesliga Joshua Kimmich £315,000£315k £39,483£39k
Premier League Bruno Fernandes £300,000£300k £76,710£77k
Major League Soccer Casemiro £300,000£300k £11,731£12k
Ligue 1 Marquinhos £279,000£279k £30,015£30k
La Liga Trent Alexander-Arnold £249,000£249k £40,838£41k
Serie A John Stones £200,000£200k £44,528£45k
Primeira Liga João Palhinha £199,000£199k £11,158£11k
Championship Kalvin Phillips £165,000£165k £20,131£20k
Croatian First League Ismaël Bennacer £117,000£117k £4,206£4k
Brasileirão Série A Arthur £99,000£99k £10,842£11k
Eredivisie Lutsharel Geertruida £99,000£99k £9,142£9k
2. Bundesliga Maximilian Arnold £74,000£74k £11,170£11k
Russian Premier League Wendel £71,000£71k £16,664£17k
Liga MX Carlos Gruezo £64,000£64k £6,811£7k
League One Boubakary Soumaré £58,000£58k £6,405£6k
Serie B Ali Al Musrati £55,000£55k £8,344£8k
La Liga 2 Donny van de Beek £54,000£54k £5,199£5k
Super Liga Leandro Paredes £44,000£44k £4,100£4k
Chinese Super League Ibrahim Amadou £42,000£42k £5,544£6k
Scottish Premiership Callum McGregor £39,000£39k £5,790£6k
J1 League Oriol Romeu £35,000£35k £4,063£4k
Danish Superliga Philip Billing £35,000£35k £7,123£7k
Superleague Greece Christos Zafeiris £33,000£33k £7,533£8k
Czech First League Sivert Mannsverk £33,000£33k £2,010£2k
Belgian Pro League László Bénes £25,000£25k £6,702£7k
Ekstraklasa Karol Linetty £25,000£25k £3,410£3k
Ligue 2 Ibou Sissoko £21,000£21k £4,966£5k
Austrian Bundesliga Bendegúz Bolla £20,000£20k £3,500£4k
Belgian Challenger Pro League Mats Rits £16,000£16k £2,048£2k
Eliteserien Hrannar Snær Magnússon £13,000£13k £2,231£2k
League Two Joe Williams £12,000£12k £2,560£3k
Categoría Primera A Élan Ricardo £11,000£11k £3,852£4k
Thai League Roque Mesa £8,000£8k £2,247£2k
Indian Super League Lalengmawia £5,500£6k £707£707
Veikkausliiga Alexander Ring £4,500£5k £708£708
Scottish Championship Graeme Shinnie £4,200£4k £907£907
National League Jake Rooney £4,100£4k £1,293£1k
A-League Jake Girdwood-Reich £4,100£4k £1,219£1k
I-League Jordi Altena £3,100£3k £364£364
Canadian Premier League Manuel Aparicio £810£810 £458£458
Meistriliiga Modou Tambedou £484£484 £161£161

Frequently asked questions

Who is the highest paid midfielder in League One?

Boubakary Soumaré of Leicester City, on £58,000 a week in 2026/27, or £3,016,000 a year. John Lundstram of Leicester City is second on £52,000 a week.

How much do League One midfielders earn?

The average League One midfielder aged 22 or over earns £6,405 a week, and the median one £4,350. Midfielders take 22% of what League One pays its players of that age.

Which League One club pays its midfielders the most?

Leicester City, £177,540 a week across the 13 midfielders we hold a wage for, led by Boubakary Soumaré on £58,000.

Who is the highest paid midfielder in football?

Of the 43 men's leagues we rank midfielders in, the best-paid is Otávio of Al-Qadsiah Football Club in the Saudi Pro League, on £472,000 a week. The best-paid in League One ranks 17th of the 43 leagues on that measure.

Where to next

The same League One squads, cut a different way

See the highest paid League One players in every position, the best-paid player at every club, what League One players are paid at every age, or League One wage bill, club by club.