Premier League clubs spend record £3 billion in summer frenzy

Alexander Isak’s British record £125 million ($169 million) move from Newcastle United to Liverpool on Monday completed an eye-watering summer of English Premier League spending.

The Swedish striker’s move, along with several other big-money deadline day deals such as Newcastle’s £55 million swoop for Brentford striker Yoane Wissa meant the cumulative spend for the world’s richest soccer league during the transfer window reached three billion pounds for the first time.

Gross spending for the Premier League this season is already the highest ever, exceeding the £2.7 billion spent in the 2022-23 season, and the January window is still to come.

The 20 clubs have spent £650 million more in this window than the previous highest summer spend in 2023.

List of major signings in the 2025-26 pre-season transfer window

ALEXANDER ISAK: From Newcastle to Liverpool (125 million pounds)

FLORIAN WIRTZ: From Bayer Leverkusen to Liverpool (100 million pounds and 16 million in potential bonuses)

BENJAMIN SESKO: From RB Leipzig to Manchester United(76.5 million euros)

BRYAN MBEUMO: From Brentford to Manchester United (71 million pounds

HUGO EKITIKE: From Eintracht Frankfurt to Liverpool (69 million pounds)

NICK WOLTEMADE: From Stuttgart to Newcastle (69 million pounds)

EBERECHI EZE: From Crystal Palace to Arsenal (68 million pounds)

MATHEUS CUNHA: from Wolverhampton Wanderers to Manchester United (62.5 million pounds, as per a Reuters’ source)

XAVI SIMONS: From RB Leipzig to Tottenham (60 million euros)

MARTIN ZUBIMENDI: From Real Sociedad to Arsenal (60 million euros)

JOAO PEDRO: From Brighton & Hove Albion to Chelsea (60 million pounds)

TIJJANI REIJNDERS: From AC Milan to Manchester City (55 million euros, as per a Reuters’ source)

YOANE WISSA: From Brentford to Newcastle (55 million pounds)

VIKTOR GYOKERES: From Sporting to Arsenal (55 million pounds plus around 8 million pounds in add-ons)

MOHAMMED KUDUS: From West Ham United to Tottenham Hotspur (55 million pounds)

RAYAN CHERKI: From Olympique Lyonnais to Manchester City (40 million euros)

ALEJANDRO GARNACHO: From Manchester United to Chelsea (40 million pounds)

JACOB RAMSEY: From Aston Villa to Newcastle United (40 million pounds)

JEREMIE FRIMPONG: From Bayer Leverkusen to Liverpool (35 million euros)

EVANN GUESSAND: From Nice to Aston Villa (35 million euros)

RAYAN AIT-NOURI: From Wolverhampton Wanderers to Manchester City ( 33.7 million pounds)

ARNAUD KALIMUENDO: From Stade Rennais to Nottingham Forest (26 million pounds)

CHRISTIAN NORGAARD: From Brentford to Arsenal (10 million pounds)

MILOS KERKEZ: From Bournemouth to Liverpool (40 million-pounds)

TYLER DIBLING: From Southampton to Everton (42 million pounds)

JAMIE GITTENS: From Borussia Dortmund to Chelsea (55 million pounds)

BAFODE DIAKITE: From Lille to Bournemouth (34.6 million pounds)

MAMADOU SARR: From Strasbourg to Chelsea (14 million euros)

LIAM DELAP: From Ipswich Town to Chelsea (30 million pounds)

CAOIMHIN KELLEHER: From Liverpool to Brentford (18 million pounds)

GRANIT XHAKA: From Bayer Leverkusen to Sunderland (17.3 million pounds)

JACK GREALISH: From Manchester City to Everton

AARON RAMSDALE: From Southampton to Newcastle United (loan)

CALLUM WILSON: To West Ham United (free transfer)

MALICK THIAW: From AC Milan To Newcastle United (34.6 million pounds)

MATHYS TEL: From Bayern Munich to Tottenham Hotspur (30 million pounds)

HABIB DIARRA: From Strasbourg to Sunderland (30 million pounds)

DJORDJE PETROVIC: From Chelsea to Bournemouth (25 million pounds)

FABIO SILVA: From Wolverhampton Wanderers to Borussia Dortmund (22.5 million euros)

DAN NDOYE: From Bologna to Nottingham Forest (34 million pounds)

AMINE ADLI: From Bayer Leverkusen to Bournemouth (25 million pounds)

GIOVANNI LEONI: From Parma to Liverpool (26 million pounds)

JORREL HATO: From Ajax Amsterdam to Chelsea

JACKSON TCHATCHOUA: From Hellas Verona to Wolves (12.5 million euro)

JOAO PALHINHA: From Bayern Munich to Tottenham (on loan)

JAMES TRAFFORD: From Burnley to Manchester City (27 million pounds)

KYLE WALKER: From Manchester City to Burnley (undisclosed)

MAXIM DE CUYPER: From Club Brugge to Brighton & Hove Albion

ANTONI MILAMBO: From Feyenoord to Brentford

KEPA ARRIZABALAGA: From Chelsea to Arsenal (five million pounds)

KOTA TAKAI: From J-League side Kawasaki Frontale to Tottenham Hotspur (five million pounds)

DARIO ESSUGO: From Sporting to Chelsea (18.5 million pounds)

KEVIN DANSO: From Lens to Tottenham Hotspur (21 million pounds)

GIORGI MAMARDASHVILI: From Valencia to Liverpool (25 million pounds)

ESTEVAO: From Palmeiras to Chelsea (28.9 million pounds)

JEAN-CLAIR TODIBO: From Nice to West Ham United (32.8 million pounds)

MARCUS BETTINELLI: From Chelsea to Manchester City (Undisclosed fee)

ENZO LE FEE: From AS Roma to Sunderland (20 million pounds)

WALTER BENITEZ: From PSV to Crystal Palace (Free transfer)

JORGEN STRAND LARSEN: From Celta Vigo to Wolverhampton Wanderers (Move made permanent after a season on loan)

SEBASTIAN BOURNAUW: From Wolfsburg to Leeds United (5.1 million pounds)

GABRIEL GUDMUNDSSON: From Lille to Leeds United (10 million pounds)

CHARLY ALCARAZ: From Flamengo to Everton (undisclosed)

JAIR CUNHA: From Botafogo to Nottingham Forest (12 million euros)

MARK TRAVERS: From Bournemouth to Everton (undisclosed)

SVERRE NYPAN: From Rosenborg to Manchester City (12.5 million pounds)

MADS HERMANSEN: From Leicester City to West Ham (20 million pounds)

SENNE LAMMENS: From Royal Antwerp to Manchester United (18.1 million pounds)

VELJKO MILOSAVLJEVIC: From Red Star Belgrade to Bournemouth (13 million pounds)

PIERO HINCAPIE: From Bayer Leverkusen to Arsenal (loan)

RANDAL KOLO MUANI: From PSG to Tottenham (loan)

SAMUEL CHUKWUEZE: From Milan to Fulham (loan)

JADON SANCHO: From Manchester United to Aston Villa (loan)

“This summer we have seen the Premier League’s financial dominance over world football,” Dan Plumley, a football finance expert at Sheffield Hallam University, told Reuters. “Boosted by international broadcast money, they continue to operate on another level to other leagues.”

It has not all been one-way traffic with clubs also recouping some of their outlay in sales but the £1.2 billion net spend is also the highest ever — a 114% increase on the previous summer and 13% higher than the previous record in 2022, according to Deloitte.

“A third record-breaking summer of Premier League spending in four years sends a strong signal that, despite subdued spending across the rest of the continent, clubs have no plans to slow down their investment in the on-pitch product,” Tim Bridge, lead partner in the Deloitte Sports Business Group said.

The financial muscle of the Premier League means it accounted for 51% of the gross spend from the big five European leagues which also includes Germany’s Bundesliga, Spain’s LaLiga, Italy’s Serie A and France’s Ligue 1.

The average net spend of the other four leagues, according to Deloitte, was 90 million euros ($105 million).

While the Premier League splurge reached new heights, England’s second-tier Championship also soared to a combined £240 million gross spend, £95 million more than the previous season.

The figures come despite the Premier League’s strict Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) — highlighting the huge income that even middle-ranking clubs enjoy from the league’s TV deals.

“There continues to be a complex regulatory landscape from both domestic and European governing bodies, however, there is clearly still strong appetite for recruitment,” Bridge said.

“However, financial sustainability should still be at the heart of all business to encourage the long-term success of any football club.”

Champions Liverpool, who also signed Germany’s Florian Wirtz for an initial £100 million , not surprisingly topped the list for Premier League spenders during the summer.

“Stadium expansion and enhanced commercial partnerships coupled with on pitch success has pushed their revenue line up over £600m,” Plumley said.

“They can afford it, despite the PSR landscape. What that says for the other clubs in the league, outside of the established elite, is a bigger question.”

Their outlay of €483 million , for a net spend of €264 million , was followed by Chelsea’s €328 million outlay and Arsenal’s 293 million euros, according to https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/