Derby County tipped for ‘£30m’ payout amid Lewis Travis wage claim, ‘bizarre’ Blackburn Rovers at it again

Add as preferred source on Google

The saga surrounding Derby County and Lewis Travis has dominated the Championship in the last couple of weeks.

The 27-year-old wants to leave Blackburn Rovers for the Rams before the summer transfer window comes to a close, and he was not involved in the Lancashire outfit’s 2-1 defeat at home to Birmingham City last weekend.

Derby have had a bid rejected for the midfielder already, and Rovers are sticking with their valuation of their club captain.

Nevertheless, the Rams have put an offer on the table for Travis and EFL Analysis has taken a look into the financial situation that surrounds this saga.

• READ MORE – Wrexham make ‘statement of intent’ after beating Sheffield United and Rangers to sign £8m Callum Doyle

Finance expert weighs in on the Lewis Travis, Derby County saga

Derby are continuing to press on with bringing in new players. A third bid for Max Johnston has been submitted, as a right-back is desperately needed.

However, Travis is the one who John Eustace seems to really want and our finance expert, Adam Williams, has spoken exclusively to EFL Analysis about the finances behind a deal. He said: “Blackburn’s wage bill has been hovering at around £25m for five years now. We haven’t seen the 2024-25 accounts yet, but the policy seems to be that this is what is available.

“As a percentage of turnover, that’s around 120 per cent. Clearly, that isn’t great, although there are plenty of clubs who are worse. Probably around 75 per cent of that £25m figure is admin staff and other employees, as opposed to players and coaches. Another 15 per cent of that is National Insurance etc.

“Travis should be towards the top end of their wage structure, but it’s three years since he signed a new deal. So my guess is that he’s on around £10,000 per week. There will be some margin for error there, but I don’t think it will be too far out.

“Derby’s wage bill was £22m in 2023-24, but that was of course a League One season. You’re getting another £8m in TV money in the Championship. And probably all of that is going to be reinvested in player wages, with some set aside for transfers too.

“I think they’ll be at around £30m in wages this season, which is probably top half by Championship standards. Their revenue is going to be higher than Blackburn’s too, so they can comfortably absorb an increase to their wage structure.

“In terms of what qualifies as ‘life-changing’ money, that really depends. If Travis is offered, say £20,000-a-week, that’s more than £1m per year. Yes, you’re taxed 45 per cent of that, but a double-your-money salary is still life-changing in my book.

“He’s got nearly 250 Championship games under his belt. Ipswich, who were going for promotion at the time and brilliantly coached, saw something in him. He’s a very accomplished player. I think he could potentially justify a little more than £20,000, even.

“Blackburn have a wage structure and, if they aren’t willing to stretch to that, they will have their reasons. But again, you have to question what the owners are doing. They’re burning £20m per year – that is when the losses aren’t subsidised by a big player sale – and it’s going to continue to be a money pit without more investment. What’s in it for them? It’s bizarre.”

• READ MORE – Derby County vs Bristol City referee officiated a Rams win that Frank Lampard said had ‘everything’

Blackburn Rovers have left themselves in a corner

Travis remains a Blackburn player for now, and this will be extremely frustrating for Derby. However, it seems unlikely that the midfielder will sign a new deal at Ewood Park this season and he will walk away for free next summer.

Rovers have lost several key players this summer, including Tyrhys Dolan, Andreas Weimann and Danny Batth – with the latter two joining the Rams.

The club’s ambition has to be questioned considering the captain of the club is looking elsewhere, and if Blackburn’s poor start continues, anger will grow at Ewood Park.

Nonetheless, Derby will be hoping that they can get this deal over the line in the coming days, with Travis a player that would add more balance to the midfield at Pride Park.