Shrewd Southampton get best bang for buck

Southampton are the club punching heaviest above their weight in the Premier League in terms of performance compared with wages paid to players while Chelsea are also over-achieving, latest figures have revealed.

The Saints are only ranked 16th in the top flight in terms of their wage bill — £55.2 million (€76.7m) — and yet are currently seventh in the Premier League.

Chelsea are 10 points clear at the top of the table but are only the third-highest payers with a wage bill of £192.7m ( €268m) behind Manchester United (£215.8m, €300m) and Manchester City (£205m, €286.1m).