The summer transfer window for the 2025/26 Premier League season has closed, and the 20 teams in England’s top flight have spent a staggering sum between them. We may yet see information about more deals filter through, but most reports already have the total spent at more than £3 billion.
Whatever the exact figure turns out to be, it will be a new record total. With so many transfer fees being undisclosed, featuring add-ons, delayed payment structures and other financial complexities, we can never be too certain about the overall total. However, the most spent previously is thought to be around £2.4bn, back in the summer of 2023.
Prior to a frenzied deadline day, the record had already been broken, with an estimated total spend of over £2.7bn. Many expected a lot of action to take place on the final day, with a few big deals deemed very likely, but even so, what followed had many commentators frothing at the mouth and overflowing with hyperbole about the “greatest deadline day ever”.
Stats Galore
🚨 The Premier League spent more money this summer than Serie A, Bundesliga, La Liga and Ligue 1 combined. 🤑🤯🏴 pic.twitter.com/YmSiXESMbw
— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) September 2, 2025
It was a window full of records and one that can be picked apart in any number of ways by those who love stats and numbers. That headline figure of £3bn+ will obviously attract a lot of attention, but we also saw a record in terms of sales too.
Premier League clubs, keen to balance their books to stay on the right side of the Profit and Sustainability police, sold players totalling not far shy of £2bn. The money recouped from selling players both abroad and to other Premier League sides totalled about £1.9bn (a record, of course!), meaning an overall net spend of more than £1.3bn. And yes, that net spend was a record value too.
Last season’s top two led the way in terms of net spending, with Arsenal, who were runners-up back in May, spending the most. Mikel Arteta oversaw a net spend (cost of players bought minus cost of players sold) of £257m, with Arne Slot and Liverpool splashing around £218m. The Merseysiders actually spent significantly more than their north London rivals (£447m versus £267m), but selling the likes of Luis Dias and Darwin Nunez saw them recoup over £228m of that, compared to just £10m coming back in for the Gunners.
Team Figures
Several other clubs spent in excess of £100m, allowing for player sales. There are different figures quotes at a range of sites, and with some information about deals still filtering through, exact figures may vary. Even so, the list below gives a good idea of just how many teams went really big in this window.
- Manchester United – £171m
- Tottenham Hotspur – £154m
- Sunderland – £141m
- Manchester City – £118m
- Everton – £114m
- Leeds United – £103m
- Nottingham Forest – £101m
- Newcastle United – £99m
At the other end of the spectrum, some fans were left very disappointed by the business that their teams managed. Of course, success isn’t all about money, and certainly not about simply spending it for the sake of it. But fans invariably want new signings to get excited about – at least until November when it transpires most of them aren’t that great.
Six or possibly even seven clubs turned a profit on player trading this summer, with Bournemouth by far the biggest net gainers. Selling off just about all their defensive jewels to the European elite (PSG, Liverpool and Real Madrid) saw the Cherries make around £80m. They brought in well over £200m, so they could be ones to watch in the winter window.
Brighton also made a very healthy profit – little change there – with both them and Brentford benefitting to the tune of more than £50m. The figure for the Seagulls was closer to £65m, while Aston Villa, Crystal Palace and Chelsea all made a profit, with Wolves possibly also in the black depending on the exact figures of their various deals.
Net Spend Far from the Only Story
Net spend is in many ways the fairest way to look at transfers as it allows for trades both ways. A club that sells its star striker obviously will want to replace them. But it certainly doesn’t tell the whole story.
Chelsea and Wolves had a very similar net spending totals in this window and depending on whose figures you believe either may have made a small profit or a small loss on transfers. However, while the Blues were second only to Liverpool in terms of outlay, Wolves ranked 11th in that table. Chelsea spent not far shy of £300m, but brought in as much as £314m according to some reports. In contrast, Wolves spent around £120m and recouped about the same.
Lavish Liverpool Lead Loot League
It has long been thought that spending is best done from a position of strength. Buy players while you are at the top to stay there and keep your players hungry. Well, Liverpool have well and truly done that, with Slot overseeing the biggest outlay in Liverpool’s long history.
He spent very little in his first 12 months at the club but more than made up for that this summer. The Dutch boss brought in players worth a staggering £447m (if we take the highest figures quoted). That includes breaking the British transfer record twice (if add-ons for Florian Wirtz are included), and they were prepared to spend more but a move for Marc Guehi collapsed late on.
Liverpool sold many players, recouping well over £200m, but it is clear they are going to be the team to beat this year. Top of the table with a 100% record, after the international break they may field one of the scariest attacking fours the Premier League has ever seen. Their first game after the break is against Burnley, and the Clarets could see Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz, Hugo Etikite and Mo Salah lining up against them!
10 Biggest Deals of the Summer
The table below further illustrates what a window it was for Liverpool:
| Player | Fee | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Alexander Isak | £125m | Liverpool |
| Florian Wirtz | £116.5m | Liverpool |
| Hugo Etikite | £79m | Liverpool |
| Benjamin Sesko | £73.7m | Man United |
| Bryan Mbeumo | £71m | Man United |
| Eberechi Eze | £67.5m | Arsenal |
| Viktor Gyokeres | £63.5m | Arsenal |
| Joao Pedro | £60m | Chelsea |
| Noni Madueke | £52m | Arsenal |
| Martin Zubimendi | £51m | Arsenal |