Research from the national estate agent, Keller Williams UK, reveals how many hometown properties some of the best-paid English Premier League footballers could afford to buy with their annual salary.

It is no secret that Premiership footballers are extremely well remunerated for their work and talent and, as we’ve seen this summer with big transfers for the likes of Jadon Sancho and Jack Grealish, when players hit peak form, clubs will pay extraordinary sums to get them on the books.

But what does a young man do with such vast amounts of money? The answer for many is property investment, often seen as an easy and reliable way of creating a legacy income for themselves once their playing days are over. Where better than their hometowns so they can combine visiting their family with managing their potential future buy-to-let portfolio.

With this in mind, Keller Williams has analysed the salaries of English players and compared them to the average house price in their respective hometowns to work out exactly how many property investments each player could make in a single year.

At the very top of this list, the player who can afford to buy the most hometown homes, is England’s sweetheart, Jack Grealish. Following a bumper transfer to Manchester City, Grealish now earns a base annual salary of £15.6 million. He was born in Birmingham where the average house price is currently £205,615. This means that  Grealish could buy 76 hometown houses with his annual pay packet, more than any other player on the list by quite a distance.

Second is Jordan Henderson, Liverpool’s no-nonsense captain who earns £7.3 million each year. He was born in Sunderland where the average home cost £127,857 which means Henderson could buy 57 properties with a single year’s salary.

Marcus Rashford is third on the list. Widely praised for his vital work off the pitch, Rashford is also a handsomely paid athlete with an annual salary from Manchester United of £10.4 million. Born and raised in Manchester where the average house price is £196,333, he could buy 53 hometown homes each year.

Next is another Manchester United player, Harry Maguire, who earns £8.5 million a year. He was born in Sheffield where the average house price is currently £184,701. This means Maguire could buy 46 hometown homes every year.

And then there’s Jordan Pickford, England’s animated man between the sticks. He plays for Everton where he is currently paid £5.2 million. Like Jordan Henderson, Pickford is from Sunderland where the average house price is £127,857. This means he could buy 41 hometown homes with a single year’s earnings. 

An interesting point of note is Harry Kane. The England and Tottenham Hotspur captain is one of the most high-profile and successful goal scorers in world football, currently earning £10.4 million a year.

Despite this, Kane is placed towards the very bottom of the list, below many players who earn half of his salary.

This is because Kane was born in Waltham Forest, an expensive borough in North East London where the average house price is £487,133. This means he could buy just 21 hometown homes with a year’s earnings, less than a third of Jack Grealish. Still, not too shabby for a potential property portfolio.