Newcastle United have completed the signing of Matt Ritchie from Bournemouth for a reported fee of £12m. As a result, Ritchie cost four times more than the entire Blues squad put together.
If ever there was an example of the challenge awaiting Blues next season, this is it.
After being relegated from the Premier League, Newcastle will use their financial muscle to chase an instant return to the promised land. They, along with Aston Villa and Norwich City, will be the financial powerhouses of the Championship.
Twelve-million quid doesn`t sound a great deal of money in football terms. But let`s put it into context?At the time of writing, only six players in Blues` squad were signed for a transfer fee – the whole squad was assembled for less than £3m.
In recent years, a tight financial climate has cemented the purse strings closed. For a while, paying any kind of nominal transfer fee was unthinkable. Paul Caddis was the exception when the club forked out approximately £100,000 to Swindon Town for his services.
The only other player Clark paid a fee for was David Davis – also around £100,000 – which was funded by Tom Adeyemi`s move to Cardiff City.
Last season, Gary Rowett spent just short of £2.5m. This was split between Maikel Kieftenbeld (£210k) Nicolai Brock-Madsen (£750k) and Diego Fabbrini (£1.5m). Add Ryan Shotton`s undisclosed fee (thought to be around £250k) into the equation, in footballing terms, we`re talking pittance.
Finishing in the top six will be Blues` aim next season but in reality, this will be massively difficult to achieve. If last season`s Championship table finished in order of highest wage bill to the lowest, Blues would have ended up in 20th.
But money doesn`t always dictate the order of success in football – as was the case in Leicester City`s shock but deserved title triumph last term.
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