Records look set to tumble as Liverpool near the £125m signing of Alexander Isak from Newcastle United, taking Premier League summer spending to £3bn.
A flurry of activity on transfer deadline day saw the majority of top-flight clubs close in on last-minute deals before business closes at 7pm.
Spending was set to breach the £3bn mark for the first time, comfortably eclipsing the previous high of £2.4bn in 2023 – the only occasion total transfer fees have surpassed £2bn.
The total is almost three times the £1.2bn outlay just four years ago, when Premier League clubs were forced to tighten their belts by the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
It stood at £2.7bn on Monday afternoon, when most deals including Isak’s were in their final stages but had not yet been officially confirmed.
Deadline-day trading was dominated by Isak’s on-off-on move to Liverpool, which established a new record for a transfer fee paid by a British club.
It overtook the £116m that Liverpool also committed to buying Germany attacker Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen earlier this year.
The champions also left it late to revive their interest in Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi, agreeing a £35m fee for the England defender.
Isak’s future had been the subject of speculation all summer, with Newcastle resisting interest in the Sweden international until the very end of the window.
His sale prompted Newcastle to match Brentford’s £55m demands for Yoane Wissa, who too had made clear his desire to move clubs before the summer window closed.
Deadline day: Manchester clubs sign keepers
Elsewhere, Manchester City agreed a £30m deal to sign Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma from European champions Paris Saint-Germain.
City in turn sanctioned former No1 Ederson’s transfer to Turkish side Fenerbahce, with James Trafford set to deputise for Donnarumma.
Neighbours Manchester United also agreed the signing of a new goalkeeper in £18m Senne Lammens from Antwerp, after dropping their interest in Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez.
Fulham were among the busiest clubs on deadline day, attempting to finalise deals for Chelsea teenager Tyrique George, AC Milan winger Samuel Chukwueze and Shakhtar Donetsk’s Brazilian winger Kevin.
Bottom club Wolves boosted their strikeforce with the £24m signing of Tolu Arokodare from Belgian side Genk, while Nottingham Forest were set to complete a £30m move for Strasbourg winger Dilane Bakwa.
In the loan market, Tottenham Hotspur won the race for PSG and France forward Randal Kolo Muani, while Aston Villa pursued moves for United’s Jadon Sancho and Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott.