Birmingham City 's season-long loan deal for rookie Southampton striker Sam Gallagher will cost the Championship club a staggering £43,000 a week.
The Blues beat Midlands rivals Aston Villa, Wolves and Derby to ex-England Under-20 international Gallagher – but only after agreeing to cough up the kind of cash that proves how money madness has infected the transfer market.
Sunday Mirror Sport has learned that Birmingham will pay Saints a £1.2million ‘rental’ fee for a player who scored his only top-flight goal more than three years ago.
They are also handing Gallagher, 21, a hefty increase on the £10,000-a-week deal he banked when signing a new four-year contract at St Mary’s last month. He will now earn £18,000 a week playing for Harry Redknapp this season.
Birmingham have also shelled out another £200,000 in agent’s fees for the deal to be brokered.
Southampton’s initial demand to send Gallagher out on loan was £2m – but they reduced their asking price when there were no takers.
Gallagher’s temporary transfer – one of dozens of loan deals completed this summer – illustrates how much lower-division clubs are prepared to gamble in a desperate scramble to hit the £200m Premier League jackpot.
The cash sums Birmingham are lavishing on one player – who scored just 12 goals in 47 appearances for Blackburn as they were relegated last season – are becoming the rule rather than the exception.
A source, who is involved at the business end of the player-recruitment industry, said: “Loan deals were introduced to help clubs in times of an emergency.
"Then it was used as a means of allowing young players to gain experience at a lower level.Now, with more money than ever swilling around football, the system is just another way for all parties involved to line their pockets.
“Sometimes that can be to the detriment of the clubs, sometimes to the detriment of the players. But some clubs are taking huge financial risks.
“It wouldn’t be such a gamble if payments and bonuses were linked to success. But payments on loan deals are front-loaded – with clubs often forced to give players minutes on the pitch because agreements have penalties attached if players do not make enough appearances.
“Those financial pressures often force managers to pick players they do not want in their team. Payments should not be made up front and clubs should not be financially punished if the manager takes the decision to leave a certain player out.
“The money being paid for loan deals should be linked to success and made payable at the end of the season.”
There have been calls for loans deals in the Premier League to be scrapped at a time when the clubs bank in excess of £100m every season from TV revenues.
Many top sides look to send players to lower-division clubs in a bid to give them minutes on the pitch in a competitive environment. Some are often forced to go to teams against their will, while others use a loan deal as a means of getting a wage rise.
The insider added: “Too many loan deals are being done to generate money – be that for a club, an agent or a player – and often aren’t being arranged to benefit the footballer’s development.
“The arrangement needs to be looked into and governed properly.”