I don't think that's necessarily true, the UK pay is skewed greatly by some very high earners in the city and generally in London and the South East. The rest of the country is basically a low wage economy, 40% of people claiming Universal Credit are in employment.
We've got nowhere near the squad depth we needed to properly sustain a challenge, King has to face up to the fact that he needs to put his own hand in his pocket if his alleged play off target is realistic