A lot of attention is paid to the initial fee of a player when a transfer is made. In recent times, reports of salaries are also covered but this generally plays second fiddle to the fee required to bring a player from Club A to Club B.

Nevertheless, we can read a lot into the figures that clubs spend on player salaries. They can tell you all kinds of stuff about ambition, desperation, success or a lack thereof.

Today, I'm going to talk a little bit about how I view the salary growth of the top 6 English football clubs. Of course, this is just my reading into the situation and I'd love to hear whether you agree or disagree in the comment section below.

The table below shows salary growth between 2011 and 2016:

Manchester City

Let's start with the trickiest salary stats. Manchester City, for the most part, can be ignored on this graph. The reason I say this is because they're currently under investigation for fudging the numbers at their club so there is no guarantee that this information is actually what they're spending.

However, looking back to the period between 2011 and 2013, the figures that we have available display a club that was spending above its means. With the size of the club at the time, this rapid spike in player salaries simply didn't match the incoming figures. It does however show, in my opinion, that the club was ambitious over this period. The results speak for themselves.

Liverpool

Liverpool's player wages remained pretty much stable around the 2011 to 2013 period. This was perhaps indicative of a club that were trying to maintain the balance of club and player power. However, this also screams to me of a lack of ambition at a time when the club most needed it. The players Liverpool were signing simply weren't good enough for the most part and this is probably why large salaries weren't required.

If you look at the 2014 period, you can see that wages start to increase. This is likely due to the fact that Liverpool had challenged for the Premier League title in the previous season and players wanted to be rewarded for that effort. However, after the appointment of Klopp in 2015, wages have been increasing steadily on a yearly basis. I believe there are a couple of reasons for this.

Firstly, Liverpool have started to sign players that command higher salaries. The likes of van Dijk and Alisson would be prime examples of this. Secondly, Liverpool's resurgence has meant that the club has had to increase the wages of its biggest stars. Salah, Mane, and Firmino, for example, have been rewarded for taking the club back to a successful period. Nevertheless, the increased revenue from successful Champions League campaigns have allowed this to be a sustainable increase.

Tottenham

I found Tottenham's player wages to be very interesting for a few reasons. Firstly, the fact that they've managed to create such a competitive team when they spend a lot less than their rivals is commendable. I also imagine that the new stadium has taken away from spending power elsewhere over the last couple of years.

However, the worrying thing for Tottenham supporters here would probably be that it will be difficult to keep hold of top class players at these salary levels. The likes of Kane or Son could be tempted away from the club if they feel they are undervalued in their current contracts.

Pochettino may also find it difficult to attract the level of player required to push on if he is unable to offer the kind of wages that the other top English clubs will. If Manchester City, for example, want to sign the same player as Tottenham, they're unlikely to stand a chance with such low player salaries.

Chelsea

Chelsea are an interesting club because they were really the first incarnation of Manchester City in the current day. What I mean by that is that they were bought by a mega rich owner who wanted to splash endless amounts of cash on players in order to boost the club's success domestically and in Europe.

However, since Manchester City have taken over from Chelsea in that regard, it has often felt like Abramovich can't really be bothered anymore. Nevertheless, the salary figures displayed here would suggest that this isn't the case. Chelsea's wages have continued to rise following a fairly stable point in 2013.

This is likely to be because Chelsea wanted to keep its star players at the club. The likes of Hazard wouldn't have been easy to keep around when rumours of Real Madrid's interest has been circling for quite a few years.

Arsenal

Arsenal seemed to stagnate under Wenger in his final years at the club and this can perhaps be seen between the period of 2015 and 2016 when club wages came to a halt following years of gradual increase.

A lack of genuine success may be an explanation for this. If players aren't performing well then they don't tend to be rewarded with improved contracts. There is also the issue of the club not signing the kind of players that Arsenal supporters would want to see. Relatively unknown names don't require large salaries initially and we all know that Wenger loved to find a bargain most people wouldn't have heard of.

I'd be interested to see the updated figures since Emery took over as manager. Whether there has been a change or not yet, I believe Arsenal will have to start paying above the odds to get themselves back to where they want to be.

Manchester United

Manchester United have always been big spenders. It seemed like a natural progression in the past, however, because the club was so successful under Ferguson. As the trophies flooded in and an era of dominance continued, the club's biggest stars were rewarded greatly.

However, since Manchester United's downfall began when Moyes took over, it has felt like the club is acting in desperation. Looking to put themselves back at the top of the pile, you can see that they became the league's top spenders in regard to wages at the end of this graph. I believe things would be even worse in the present day because they are spending huge wages on garbage like Sanchez and this has set a dangerous precedent where other players may demand similar wages to match.

You could also look at this as a sign of ambition, however. Manchester United are clearly not content with their fall from the top and are doing whatever they can to try to get back to where they were. It's certainly a more ambitious approach than what Tottenham have been doing over the years, but that makes the end result even more painful for Manchester United supporters.