With packed fixture schedules and little in the way of recovery time, top tier competition is about so much more than a starting XI these days.
For the most part, Newcastle United tend to follow that trend, and having 26 different senior starters over the course of last season's Premier League campaign shows that Steve Bruce’s men are just about average in that regard.
Even taking that figure into account, however, there were some players who – whether it be through injury or other reasons – were on the club’s books without making much of an on-field impact.
But which benchwarmer cost the Magpies the most money for the least output last term?
New research from OLBG has discovered the Premier League players who were paid the most but played the least in 2020/21.
Click and scroll through their findings for each club below…

13. Newcastle United - Henri Saivet
Weekly wage: £36,000 Annual salary: £1.872m Minutes played: 0 Earning per minute played: £1.872m (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images) Photo: Ian MacNicol

14. Fulham - Fabricio Agosto Ramirez
Weekly wage: £37,000 Annual salary: £1.924m Minutes played: 0 Earning per minute played: £1.924m (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images) Photo: Justin Setterfield

15. Chelsea - Charly Musonda
Weekly wage: £42,000 Annual salary: £2.184m Minutes played: 0 Earning per minute played: £2.184m (Photo by Albert Perez/Getty Images) Photo: Albert Perez

16. Brighton - Florin Andone
Weekly wage: £44,000 Annual salary: £2.288m Minutes played: 0 Earning per minute played: £2.288m (Photo by GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP via Getty Images) Photo: GABRIEL BOUYS

