How Charlton Athletic's wage bill compares to the rest of League One as Nathan Jones eyes promotion | OneFootball

FLW takes a look at where Charlton Athletic rank when it comes to wage bills in League One.

Charlton Athletic have impressed in League One under Nathan Jones this season.

The Addicks will be in with an outside chance of achieving automatic promotion at The Valley on the final day of the season if they beat Wrexham away from home in their penultimate league fixture this weekend.

They will need a couple of favours from other clubs if they are going to overtake Wycombe Wanderers and Wrexham, but with the Chairboys set to face fellow promotion-chasers Leyton Orient and Stockport County, and the Red Dragons visiting in-form Lincoln City on the final day, anything is possible.

Charlton have only been beaten once by a team currently in the top six so far this season, a 1-0 defeat away at Birmingham City, so they will have confidence that they can win promotion even if they are forced to settle for the play-offs.

Birmingham boss Chris Davies stated that Charlton "spent a fortune" on their squad after his side were beaten 1-0 at The Valley in October, and it would be reasonable to expect that the Addicks are among the highest spenders in the division given their performances this term, but according to Capology.com, there are several clubs that pay their players more on a weekly basis.

What is Charlton Athletic's wage bill

Charlton do not even rank among the top 10 clubs in League One when it comes to the highest wage bills in the division, as per the estimated data available on Capology.com.

The Addicks are said to pay their players a collective £111,154 per week, which is less than half of the highest wage bill in the third tier, £308,000, paid by Birmingham.

Huddersfield Town, who were relegated from the Championship last season, reportedly have the second-highest wage bill in League One, while Wrexham have the third-highest, with those two clubs believed to be paying £218,669 and £205,200 respectively on a weekly basis.

Rotherham United, Wigan Athletic, Bolton Wanderers, Cambridge United, Stockport County, Bristol Rovers and Wycombe make up the rest of the top 10, with Charlton's weekly wage bill ranking them 11th out of every club in League One.

Nathan Jones has built a competitive squad

Considering the quality possessed by some of the players Charlton signed last summer, it seems surprising that their wage bill is so low compared to other clubs in the third tier.

However, given that several players, including higher earners such as Alfie May, George Dobson and Scott Fraser, moved on, while Rarmani Edmonds-Green and Tayo Edun also left in January, it is easier to understand how Jones has managed to build his squad without the wage bill at the club skyrocketing.

Only six League One clubs have used fewer players than Charlton so far this season, as per Transfermarkt.com, and when you take into account that youngsters Kaheim Dixon, Josh Laqeretabua, Micah Mbick and Zach Mitchell have made just eight league appearances between them this term, while a few players also left the club in January having featured during the first half of the season, it shows that Jones has relied on a relatively small core group of players, which has saved money that will have been spent by clubs with bigger squads.