Football League World
·14 July 2024
Ben Gibson: How much was Stoke City's new signing earning at Norwich City?
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Football League World
·14 July 2024
We take a look at how much the Potters' new man was earning during his time at Carrow Road.
Stoke City have bolstered their defensive ranks by signing Ben Gibson on a free transfer upon the expiry of his Norwich City contract.
The centre-back spent four seasons at Carrow Road, and helped the club achieve promotion to the Premier League while initially on loan in the 2020/21 season under Daniel Farke.
He featured 40 times in all competitions as the Canaries finished sixth in the Championship under David Wagner, but were eventually well beaten by Leeds United in the play-off semi-final second-leg.
Gibson was not offered a new Norwich deal this summer despite being a key part of their squad for the last few years, and has now joined Stoke with a starting berth alongside either Ben Wilmot or Michael Rose likely.
The 31-year-old was born and raised in the Middlesbrough area of Nunthorpe, and came through the Boro youth academy to go on to play over 200 times for his boyhood club between 2010 and 2018, amid loan spells at Plymouth Argyle, York City and Tranmere Rovers.
After being a regular at U17, U18, U20 and U21 levels with England, he received his first call-up to the senior national team in March 2017 for a World Cup qualifier against Lithuania, but did not get on to the pitch and has never featured in a squad since.
Gibson signed for Premier League side Burnley in August 2018, but endured injury issues and a lack of opportunities in his two years at Turf Moor, so joined Norwich in September 2020.
After four relatively successful years at Carrow Road, he is on the move again and will hope to keep fit to help push Steven Schumacher's side up the Championship table in 2024/25 and beyond.
Gibson has put pen to paper on a four-year deal at the bet365 Stadium. With the help of Capology, Football League World has decided to take a look at his estimated salary at Norwich, and how that compares to the rest of the Stoke squad.
It must be taken into consideration that the data provided by Capology are estimations and not official figures.
According to Capology's estimates, Gibson was the highest earner in the Norwich first-team squad in the 2023/24 season.
The 31-year-old was thought to be earning £40,000 per week at Carrow Road, meaning that according to these figures, only Nottingham Forest loan striker Hwang Ui-jo was on more with £45,000 p/w, but it is very unlikely that the Canaries were paying his full wages, making Gibson their possible top earner.
Capology believe that Gibson earned the same amount every season at Norwich, meaning he would have made £2.08m per year, and close to £8.32m across his four years at the club.
Although he was a key part of Wagner's side in the last campaign, if these figures are to be believed, it is understandable why the Canaries allowed him to leave the club this summer.
They are high earnings for what he was offering to the team, and Norwich's standout performers such as Gabriel Sara and Josh Sargent each earned £18,654 and £25,000 per week respectively last season, according to Capology's estimates, so the disparity between what they were earning compared to Gibson made little sense.
According to transfer journalist Alan Nixon, via Patreon, Gibson was at the centre of a 'bidding war' this summer, and Stoke came out on top against a number of fellow Championship clubs after offering him the most lucrative package.
That wording insinuated a wage close to his Norwich deal, but Nixon's report stated that Stoke are paying the 31-year-old in the region of £1m a year, or around £19,000 per week for his services.
A sum near that figure would mean he is earning less than half of his Norwich wage in the Potteries, but would still place him near the top of Stoke's earners in 2024/25, according to Capology's estimates.
Ahead of the upcoming season, Ben Wilmot is Stoke's highest earner on Capology with £20,000 per week and £1.04m per year, while Lewis Baker is second on their list with £19,423 per week and £1.01m per year.
Gibson could be above or below either Wilmot or Baker, but he is definitely set to be in Stoke's top three with Enda Stevens currently in third on Capology on £15,000 per week.
Gibson is now 31 and signed a three-year deal with the Potters, so they will hope to get the best out of him up to 2027 to get their money's worth before he is 34 and likely nearing the end of his career.
While the information above is interesting, it is important to remember that all figures used are merely estimates using data from Capology.