Premier League spending tops £1bn for first time

GROSS spending by Premier League football clubs for the 2015/16 season has topped £1bn for the first time, surpassing last term’s figure of £965m.

And, according to analysis by business advisory firm Deloitte, they spent £175m in the January 2016 transfer window – the highest figure for five years.

Dan Jones, partner in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, said: “Premier League clubs have chosen to spend significantly in this year’s January transfer window.

“Notably, this January’s spending has been driven in large part by clubs in the bottom half of the table.

“The promise of the new broadcast deal for Premier League clubs from next season onwards and the threat of missing out through relegation is contributing to clubs investing in an attempt to stay in the league.”
 
The combined spend by those clubs currently in the bottom six was £90m this January, representing more than half of total Premier League spending.

Last year those clubs that found themselves in the bottom six on transfer deadline day had a gross transfer spend of £20m during that window, representing less than 20% of the Premier League total in January 2015.
 
Alexander Thorpe, senior manager in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte said: “As the prospect of increased revenue from the new broadcast deals starting next season has encouraged clubs at the lower end of the Premier League to invest this window, so too have we seen significant spending by those clubs aspiring to Premier League status with spending by Championship clubs totalling over £30m this January.”