The real 'cost' of Newcastle United wins under Steve Bruce – and Rafa Benitez

The relegation-threatened club is 17th in the Premier League – and just two points above the drop zone – ahead of Sunday’s home game against Tottenham Hotspur following a run of two wins from 18 games.

There were more calls for Bruce to go following the shocking 3-0 defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium before the international break, but the club’s head coach retains the backing of owner Mike Ashley.

BetVictor have published their latest Premier League wages study, which estimates how much clubs pay for each point and win.

Newcastle, it’s estimated, will spend £940,129 on wages per point this season – an increase of £122,288 on last year. This makes Newcastle the 10th-best team in terms of cost efficiency.

In the 2018/19 campaign, Rafa Benitez’s last as manager, United were the fourth most cost-efficient team. Under Benitez, the club was also the fourth most cost efficient in terms of points per wins.

This season, the club, which signed Callum Wilson, Ryan Fraser, Jamal Lewis and Mark Gillespie last summer, is estimated to spend £3,760,515 on wages per win this season, up almost £500,000 from last season, when the club finished 13th in the table. That also puts the team 10th in BetVictor’s cost efficiency table.

According to the analysis, Leeds United are set to be the most cost-efficient team this season with a spent £212,628 per point, while Arsenal will spend the most (£2,140,136) per point.

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