The Premier League clubs broke the spending record in the summer transfer window, splashing out £2.36 billion on new players.
According to financial services firm Deloitte, the combined outlay of the 20 clubs during the window breaks the previous spending record of £1.92 billion set last summer by £440 million.
Premier League clubs spent £255 million on deadline day alone, more than doubling the £120 million spent on the final day of the previous summer’s window.
That means the 2023-24 season already has the second-highest transfer spend in history, trailing only last season’s £2.73 billion – and the January window is still open.
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Tim Bridge, lead partner in Deloitte’s Sports Business Group, said: “A second successive summer of record spending by Premier League clubs suggests that year-on-year revenue growth could return following the pandemic.
“Nearly three quarters of Premier League clubs (14) spent more this summer than the last, reflecting the increased intensity of competition.
“There continues to be pressure on clubs to acquire top talent to satisfy their on-pitch objectives, whether that’s qualifying for European competition or simply maintaining their position in the Premier League.”
Other records include:
- Premier League transfers accounted for 48% of total spending across the ‘big five’ European leagues – La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and Ligue 1
- Premier League clubs received £550m in transfer fees from overseas clubs, more than double the previous record of £210m in the summer of 2022
- With the exception of Spain’s La Liga, gross transfer spend increased in all of Europe’s ‘big five’ leagues
- Only two of Europe’s ‘big five’ leagues spent more on transfers than they received – the Premier League and Ligue 1
- There were 13 Premier League transfers valued at £50m-plus, which is more than the previous two summer transfer windows combined.
The biggest Premier League deal of deadline day saw Manchester City sign Portugal midfielder Matheus Nunes from Wolves for £55m, while the Treble winners sold Cole Palmer to Chelsea for £40m.
Manchester United brought in goalkeeper Altay Bayindir from Fenerbahce for £4.5m, midfielder Sofyan Amrabat on loan from Fiorentina, full back Sergio Reguilon on loan from Tottenham and free agent Jonny Evans on a one-year deal.
Nottingham Forest were the busiest club, signing seven players including midfielder Ibrahim Sangare from PSV, winger Callum Hudson-Odoi from Chelsea and midfielder Nicolas Dominguez from Bologna.
What were the big transfers of the summer?
There were two transfers that hit the £100m mark this summer, with Chelsea signing midfielder Moises Caicedo from Brighton for a £100m fee that could rise to a British club record of £115m, while Arsenal signed England midfielder Declan Rice from West Ham for £100m plus £5m in add-ons.
Along with deadline day signing Nunes, Manchester City bought defender Josko Gvardiol for £77m from RB Leipzig, winger Jeremy Doku from Rennes for £55.4m and midfielder Mateo Kovacic, who arrived for £25m from Chelsea.
Manchester United signed Denmark striker Rasmus Hojlund for £72m, while fellow Champions League side Newcastle United brought in Italy midfielder Sandro Tonali for £55m and Leicester forward Harvey Barnes for £38m.
As well as Rice, last year’s Premier League runners-up Arsenal added Kai Havertz from Chelsea for £65m and Ajax defender Jurrien Timber for £34m.
Liverpool strengthened their midfield with moves for Dominik Szoboszlai from RB Leipzig for £60m, Alexis Mac Allister from Brighton for £35m and Wataru Endo from Stuttgart for £16.2m.
Chelsea top spending league
This was Chelsea’s third transfer window under new owner Todd Boehly and their spending showed no signs of slowing down.
The London club spent more than £380m on 10 players in this transfer window, more than any other side in Europe. The highest summer spend by any club in the world before now had been Real Madrid’s £292m spree in 2019.
Chelsea’s outlay on players across three transfer windows since Boehly took charge is now close to £1bn.
Their spending this summer has been partially offset by significant player sales, with nine players leaving on permanent deals, including Havertz to Arsenal and Mason Mount to Manchester United for an initial £55m.
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