Premier League transfer spending has fallen by 10 per cent and looks set to come in under last summer’s record total, barring a late flurry of signings before Friday’s deadline.
England’s top clubs have spent €270m (£228m) less on new players than they did in the 2023 close season, according to research compiled by the CIES Football Observatory.
The Premier League has seen the biggest real-terms drop of any league in Europe’s so-called Big Five, and second only to the Germany Bundesliga in percentage points.
By contrast, transfer spending in Spain’s LaLiga, Italy’s Serie A and France’s Ligue 1 has already surpassed last summer’s totals.
The figures were compiled by the Swiss-based research group this week and take into account all business completed by Monday 26 August.
Since then Premier League clubs have spent in excess of £100m more on further signings, including Euro 2024 stars Mikel Merino, Giorgi Mamardashvili and Ferdi Kadioglu.
But it will still need significant business in the final 48 hours of the transfer window to see top-flight clubs overtake last year’s record spend, which exceeded £2bn for the first time.
Liverpool’s move for Italy forward Federico Chiesa was the most high-profile business on Wednesday and is only set to cost the Merseyside club an initial fee of £10m.
Elsewhere, Brentford signed Brazilian Gustavo Nunes from Gremio for £10m, while Ipswich completed an £8m deal for Luton Town’s Chiedozie Ogbene.
Big-spending Chelsea could yet recruit a new centre-forward, having pursued Victor Osimhen of Napoli and Brentford’s Ivan Toney.
But Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur appear to have concluded their recruitment, while Liverpool are not expected to add to the signings of Chiesa and Mamardashvili.
Arsenal could yet follow the deal for Merino with a new back-up goalkeeper, but that will depend on Aaron Ramsdale departing.
Global transfer spending has fallen by 13 per cent this summer, the CIES Football Observatory reported. Despite slowing, Premier League clubs remained the biggest spenders.
Some Premier League clubs have been more cautious in order to comply with the competition’s financial rules. Everton and Nottingham Forest were docked points for breaches last season.