Liverpool FC biggest spenders in this year’s transfer window

Premier League clubs spent £1.2bn on the transfer-in of players, in the first shortened summer transfer window, according to analysis by Deloitte’s Sports Business Group, with Liverpool FC the highest spenders on £165m, followed by Chelsea on £120m.

Tim Bridge, director in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, said: “Premier League clubs’ gross player transfer expenditure of £1.2bn continues to demonstrate the sheer purchasing power of the most commercially successful football league in the world.

“With Premier League clubs’ aggregate revenues forecast to reach £5 in in 2018/19, clubs can well-afford to significantly invest in on-pitch talent in the quest for both success and survival.”

Premier League clubs’ net player transfer expenditure to August 9, was £865m, well in excess of the £665m for the summer 2017 transfer window.

Of the players transferred-in, just £175m (14%) relate to intra-Premier League transfers, a record low proportion across the history of the summer transfer window.

Mr Bridge said: “On balance, the earlier deadline for the transfer-in of players may have contributed towards a reduction in gross player transfer spending by the Premier League clubs.

“Unlike previous seasons, after August 9, clubs cannot make late player acquisitions either reacting to their early season performances, or immediately utilising proceeds arising from any late player sales to overseas clubs.

“Subject to any late sales, the Premier League and its clubs may benefit from having playing squads settled and in place for the start of the new season.

“Whilst the transfer window remains open for other European leagues, it will be interesting to see how any late offers from overseas clubs will be handled.

“It is too early to predict what the effect will be on activity over the remainder of the month, or in January’s transfer window,” he added.

Additional findings from the analysis by Deloitte’s Sports Business Group include:

· Premier League clubs have committed to around £1.230bn in respect of player transfer fees in the summer 2018 transfer window, a decrease from the previous record of £1.430bn gross spend set summer 2017, and the first time the figure has fallen year-on-year since summer 2010

· The average gross player transfer expenditure for a Premier League club in the 2018 summer window was around £61m (2017: £71m)

· Premier League clubs concluded player transfers-in totalling around £110m on transfer deadline day. The previous record, set summer 2017, was £210m

· The Premier League’s highest-spending clubs were Liverpool (£165m), Chelsea (£120m), Fulham (£105m) and Leicester City (£100m), representing around 40% of the aggregate gross player transfer expenditure by Premier League clubs. Only three clubs recorded net player transfer receipts (Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur and Watford) as at August 9.

· Premier League clubs spent a record £880m to transfer-in players from overseas clubs (summer 2017: £770m). This represented 72% of aggregate gross player transfer expenditure by Premier League clubs, compared with 54% in summer 2017 (and average of 60% for all summer transfer windows)

· Premier League clubs’ summer 2018 net player transfer expenditure was a record £865m as at the close of this window (August 9, 2018), an increase on the total net player transfer expenditure last summer of £665m (at the close of the transfer window on August 31, 2017). If Premier League clubs transfer-out any players over the remainder of August, then the net player transfer expenditure will reduce

· Across the other ‘big five’ top divisions of Europe, the next highest spending league is Serie A, with a reported gross spend of around £910m, followed by La Liga (£680m), the Bundesliga (£400m) and Ligue 1 (£350m), all of which are expected to increase by the time their respective transfer windows close later in the month

· Championship clubs spent £155m on player transfers-in during the Summer 2018 transfer window, a decrease from the £195m spent in summer 2017

· Since the introduction of the player transfer window system in January 2003, aggregate gross player transfer spending has exceeded £11.9bn, with around 82% of this being spent in summer transfer windows.