The English Premier League has once again demonstrated its financial dominance by breaking the summer transfer window record for the amount spent by its clubs on new players. The previous record had been set just last year, underscoring the league's relentless spending power.
The spending spree continued deep into the final hours of the window, which closed on Tuesday, with several high-profile deals completed before the 11pm (22:00 GMT) deadline for signings by English clubs. Approximately 38 percent of Premier League deals were made between clubs from within the competition, up from 30 percent in last year's summer transfer window, highlighting the growing trend of intra-league transfers.
Al Jazeera Sport takes a look at the major takeaways from the 2026-27 transfer window. A total of £3.46 billion ($4.67bn) was dished out by England's top-flight clubs, with £475 million ($640.1m) being spent on deadline day itself, up from £391 million ($526.7m) on the same day last year.
During the last summer transfer window, the combined spending of the league's 20 clubs breached the £3 billion ($4.05bn) barrier for the first time, while this year's figure dwarfed the £1.13 billion ($1.52bn) spent five years ago, illustrating the exponential growth in transfer expenditure.
Manchester City topped the list when they spent £125 million ($168.7m) on signing Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez from Chelsea. He's the first player to be transferred twice for figures upwards of £100 million ($134.7m), and his deal equalled the amount spent on Aleksander Isak when he moved from Newcastle United to Liverpool during the last summer transfer window.
Liverpool paid a close second £123 million ($166m) to sign France forward Bradley Barcola from Paris Saint-Germain. Chelsea followed with £117 million ($158m) spent on bringing England international Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa to Stamford Bridge, while Manchester City dished out £116 million ($156.6m) for midfielder Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest.
Manchester City's signing of Fernandez capped the whopping £458 million ($618.2m) spent as new manager Enzo Maresca assembled his first squad, which includes Moroccan midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi for £86 million ($116.2m). It was a new Premier League record that surpassed the £415 million ($560.3m) paid by Liverpool last year. Chelsea also spent heavily, shelling out £349 million ($471.1m) to back new boss Xabi Alonso.
Tottenham splashed out £303 million ($409m) as they rebuild after two successive seasons close to being relegated. Promoted trio Ipswich, Coventry City and Hull City spent more than a combined £400 million ($539.9m) to prepare themselves for life in the top flight. Sunderland landed highly rated Belgian winger Malick Fofana, 21, from Olympique Lyonnais in a reported £30 million ($40.5m) deal after beating Crystal Palace to his signature.
Tottenham Hotspur also broke their club transfer record to sign Sandro Tonali from Newcastle United in a deal that could reach £100 million ($134.9m). However, some deals failed to go through on deadline day. British media reported that Everton's move for Folarin Balogun collapsed after the US striker decided against proceeding with the transfer, while Senegal midfielder Lamine Camara remained at Monaco after his reported £47.1 million ($63.5m) move to Chelsea fell through.
Julian Alvarez's dream of playing for Barcelona never materialised after Atletico held onto him despite strong interest from Barcelona and Arsenal. Atletico chief executive Miguel Angel Gil Marin made his feelings quite clear about Barcelona last week and said Alvarez would never be sold to them. "There has not been, and there will not be any negotiation with them [Barcelona] regarding Alvarez's transfer," Atletico's board of directors said in the statement. "Atletico de Madrid is open to standard transfer market negotiations when conducted in a professional, ethical and respectful manner," the statement added.
Source: www.aljazeera.com