With Premier League clubs spending around £1.2bn on 107 permanent signings during the summer transfer window, we look at who spent the most, but more importantly, who bought the best.
Premier League spending was slightly down from recent years but it was still much higher than Europe’s other top leagues. There is still an additional domestic window between Premier League and EFL clubs from October 5-16, so those sums are expected to shift slightly.
Chelsea spent the most during the window and it was no real surprise having been banned from the previous window. They shelled out for the sum of £226.1m – more than Burnley, Brighton, West Ham, Crystal Palace, Fulham, West Brom, Southampton, Newcastle and Leicester combined.
After Aston Villa only secured their Premier League status on the final day of last season, the club’s owners have shown faith in manager Dean Smith.
Their spending included £16m on right-back Matty Cash from Nottingham Forest and £28m on Brentford striker Ollie Watkins, who Smith knew very well from his time in charge at Griffin Park.
The 24 year-old scored 25 goals for the Bees last season and scored a perfect hat-trick in Sunday’s remarkable 7-2 win over champions Liverpool that continued Villa’s unbeaten start to the season.
Emiliano Martinez brings much needed stability to the goalkeeping position after his arrival from Arsenal and if this wasn’t enough, they managed to secure a loan deal for Chelsea’s Ross Barkley who will add real creation in midfield alongside captain Jack Grealish, who signed a new five-year contract earlier in the window.
As for Wolves, they spent £36.8m on right-back Nelson Semedo, but the rest seems to have been invested in the future. 18 year-old Ki-Jana Hoever from champions Liverpool, and highly rated striker Fabio Silva (£35m) from Porto for a club record fee.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side also topped the league when it came to player sales, recouping £76m, primarily from Matt Doherty (£16m) and Diogo Jota (£45m) going to Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool respectively.
Manchester City were also busy offloading several stars to try and balance the books, recouping £70.5m, followed by Leicester (£51.7m), Liverpool (£33.5m), West Ham (£29m) and Southampton (£21m).
Six clubs did not receive any money from outgoings, including Aston Villa, Burnley, Fulham, Leeds, Newcastle and Sheffield United.