Another record transfer window closed on Friday after a busy summer that saw Premier League clubs spend £2.36 billion on new players.
Premier League clubs spent £255m on deadline day alone, more than double the £120m they spent on deadline day last summer.
That already makes the 2023-24 season enjoy the second-highest transfer spend of all time after last season’s record £2.73bn, with the January window still in place.
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 La Liga, total transfer spending has increased in all of Europe’s “big five” leagues;
- Only two of Europe’s top five leagues have spent more on transfers than they have earned – the English Premier League and Ligue 1;
- There have been 13 Premier League transfers worth over £50m, which is more than the previous two summer transfer windows combined.
“The second consecutive summer of record spending by Premier League clubs suggests year-on-year revenue growth could return after the pandemic,” said Tim Bridge, principal partner in Deloitte’s Sports Business Group.
“Almost three-quarters of Premier League clubs (14) spent more this summer than last summer, reflecting the increased competition.
“There is still pressure on clubs to acquire the best talent to achieve their objectives on the pitch, whether that is qualifying for European competition or simply maintaining their Premier League status.”
What trades were made on deadline day?
Saw the Premier League’s biggest deal at deadline day Manchester city Signing the Portuguese midfielder Mateus Nunes From Wolverhampton for 55 million pounds sterling. The Premier League champions have also been sold Cole Palmer to Chelsea For 40 million pounds sterling.
Manchester United I brought the goalkeeper Altai Binder From Fenerbahçe for £4.5m as a midfielder Sufyan Amrabat On loan from Fiorentina at full back Sergio Reguilon On loan from Tottenham and free agent Jonny Evans on a one-year deal.
Nottingham Forest It was the club’s busiest, signing seven players and one midfielder Ibrahim Sinjari From Eindhoven, winger Callum Hudson-Odoi From Chelsea and midfielder Nicholas Dominguez From Bologna.
Other notable deals on Deadline Day included:
What are the most important transfers in the summer?
There have been two transfers that have reached £100m this summer, with Chelsea signing the midfielder Musa Caicedo from Brighton for a fee of £100m that could rise to a British club record £115m, while Arsenal signed the England midfielder. Declan Rice From West Ham for £100m plus £5m in add-ons.
Along with the deadline for the capture of Nunes, Manchester City bought the defender If Guardiol For 77 million pounds from Leipzig, winger Jeremy Duco from Rennes for £55.4m and midfielder Mateo Kovacic, who arrived for £25m from Chelsea.
Rivals Manchester United signed the Danish striker Rasmus Hooglund For 72 million pounds sterling, while Newcastle United, a competitor in the Champions League, brought in the Italian midfielder. Sandro Tonali For 55 million pounds and a Leicester striker Harvey Barnes For 38 million pounds sterling.
Last year’s Premier League runners-up Arsenal added to Rice’s deal via purchase Kai Havertz For 65 million pounds and an Ajax defender Joren Timber For 34 million pounds sterling.
Liverpool strengthened its midfield with moves Dominic Zuboszlay From Leipzig for 60 million pounds sterling. Alexis McAllister From Brighton for 35 million pounds sterling and Wataru Endo From Stuttgart for 16.2 million pounds sterling.
The best offers from all over Europe
Two of the biggest signings in Europe this summer involved players from England.
Captain of the Three Lions Harry Kane join Bayern Munich From Tottenham for £86.4m, while he was a midfielder Jude Bellingham Go to real madrid From Borussia Dortmund for 88.5 million pounds.
Barcelona Ilkay Gundogan signed on a free transfer after the midfielder left Manchester City, before closing out the loan transfers on the City defender’s final day. Joao Cancelo Spain ahead Joao Felix From Atletico Madrid.
It was the most expensive transaction on Deadline today Paris Saint-Germain France attacker arrested Lon Randall From Eintracht Frankfurt for £64.2m, plus £12.8m in add-ons.
Chelsea is the highest spender in the league
This was Chelsea’s third transfer window under new owner Todd Bohle and their spending showed no signs of slowing.
The London club have spent more than £380m on 10 players in this transfer window, more than any other team in Europe. The highest summer spending for any club in the world before now was £292m for Real Madrid in 2019.
Chelsea’s spending on players across three transfer windows since Bohle took charge is now close to £1 billion.
Their spending this summer has been partially offset by significant player sales, with nine players departing on permanent deals, including Havertz to Arsenal and Mason Mount to Manchester United for 55 million pounds sterling.
Saudi Arabia shows off its financial strength
The Saudi Professional League has spent money on a host of international stars, including Neymar And Karim Benzemaas the Saudi authorities sought to make the league one of the most competitive leagues in the world.
The Saudi Public Investment Fund recently acquired four of the best teams in the country – Al-Ittihad, Al-Nasr, Al-Hilal and Al-Ahly – while the other 14 clubs in the first division have some notable players as well.
According to Deloitte, Saudi Professional League clubs have so far spent £690.55m (€805m), of which £245m has been spent on Premier League players.
This makes the league the fourth highest spender in the world this summer, behind the English Premier League, Ligue 1 and Serie A.
There could be more big-money moves too, with the Saudi transfer window not closing until September 7.
“The emergence of more active participants in the global transfer market has the potential to accelerate clubs’ efforts to create financially sustainable business models,” said Calum Ross, associate director of the Sports Business Group at Deloitte.
“In this summer’s transfer window, clubs that sold players to players from emerging international leagues then went on to spend their revenue with a large number of other clubs, in and out of the Premier League.
“This distribution of the new flow of money into the market will be key to ensuring that the financial benefits of a more dynamic global market are enjoyed across the board, reducing rather than widening any existing gaps.”
Some of the notable departures from the English Premier League to Saudi Arabia include the Newcastle winger Alain Saint-Maximin and Manchester City Riyad Mahrez Joining Al-Ahly, captain of the wolves Ruben Neves His move to Al-Hilal, Manchester City defender Emeric Laporte To join the victory and captain of Liverpool Jordan Henderson Move to agreement.
those who escaped
Despite the millions of pounds spent, there are still some deals that haven’t gone through.
Paris Saint-Germain gave Saudi club Al-Hilal permission to speak with Kylian Mbappe after making a deal A world record bid of £259mBut the striker chose to stay at the French champions.
Another Saudi club, Al-Ittihad, had a bid of up to 150 million pounds for Mohamed Salah Liverpool rejected it.
Joao Bahlinha He agreed to terms with Bayern Munich and flew to Germany for a medical on the deadline, but Fulham were unable to reach an agreement with the Bundesliga champions and the move collapsed.
