Leaked report reveals Championship's highest-paid player with spending in focus after Bristol City and Leeds United deferrals

A leaked questionnaire has reportedly highlighted just how much Championship clubs are paying their players.

The Daily Mail claim to have seen an 80-page report from the EFL that features clubs anonymously revealing how much they are spending on wages.

Eighteen Championship clubs responded, with only their geographical location being revealed.

Out of those that responded, the highest-paid player is at a southern club and on £68,000 a week, whilst the average highest wage across all 18 clubs is £29,000.

These figures do not include bonuses but are instead basic salaries, players have the potential to earn much more.

That average is a huge jump up from League One, where the average wage of a highest-paid player is £4,753 per week - a low amount when you factor in the overspending of clubs like Sunderland.

The average squad size in the Championship is 37, although one club in the south claimed to have 59 players in their squad.

Coaching wages were also shown in the questionnaire, with one manager in the Championship receiving £66,538 a week.

Some coaches are on over £150,000 a year, whilst a sports scientist at a southern Championship club is on £100,000.

With one kit man being paid £50,000 a year, Bristol City's Scott Murray revealed that kit men across the division were shocked by the eye-catching amount.

The spending of Championship clubs has been put into focus by the coronavirus crisis.

Bristol City and Leeds United are two of a number of Championship clubs to have agreed wage deferrals with their players, who have agreed to take lower wage for three months before being paid the difference at a later date.

Yet with clubs not making any money on gate receipts for the foreseeable future - it has been speculated that it could be next year before fans are allowed back into stadiums - the high level of spending in the division could well come to an abrupt end.

Robins CEO Mark Ashton has already predicted that next season will be one of austerity, and transfer fees around the world are expected to plummet.

It could well bring spending into line with lowest-spending clubs in the Championship.

One team, for example, revealed their highest earner is on £8,500 a week.