The Premier League broke the market last summer.
Expert evaluation
The English Premier League never ceases to amaze. The closing of the summer market window has become a record in several respects. And it would be a shame not to distinguish these records, trends and contradictions. A significant portion of the records were set on the last day of the market window, which has traditionally been particularly hot. What is the purchase of “Manchester United” Anthony for 82 million pounds.
In many ways, it was this deal that helped set a new Premier League spending record of nearly £ 1.9 billion. The previous summer’s record was set at 1.4 billion in 2017. Nine of the twenty clubs of the British elite have spent more than £ 100 million. We can safely say that in England they have forgotten about the covid crisis.
Club Premier League he spent more on shopping than the Spanish La Liga, the Italian Serie A and the German Bundesliga combined. Chelsea have spent more on a window than any other club in Premier League history. Manchester United broke the summer spending record. Nottingham Forest have signed more players in a transfer window than any other British club in history. In short, these are the goals that have already marked 2022.
The combined spending of the 20 clubs in the transfer window, open from 10 June to 1 September, was 67% higher than last summer (£ 1.1 billion). According to finance company Deloitte, the 2022/23 season has already seen more cumulative spend than any other season that includes two transfer windows. The previous record of “two horses” was set in the 2017/18 season: it is 1.86 billion pounds. Now only for the summer – already more. And before the January window.
Let’s not slow down and continue to disperse the numbers. Gross spending across the top five European leagues (England, Spain, Germany, Italy, France) increased by 52% to £ 3.88bn. Premier League clubs accounted for 49% of this expenditure, the highest share since the summer of 2008 and nearly three times the cost of the second highest league, Serie A (£ 646m).
Premier League clubs have signed a total of 169 players, up from 148 newcomers in 2021 and 132 in summer 2020. The league’s club spending more than doubled from last summer to £ 86m. but it is still very far from the pre-crisis level: on average in 2017-2019 it was 169.4 million pounds.
How was the last day?
The last day of the market is always particularly intense and full of events. 14 out of 20 Premier League clubs signed at least one newcomer on the last day. And here are the most notable acquisitions of the last day.
Manchester City strengthened their defense by signing Swiss international Manuel Akanji from Borussia Dortmund on a five-year contract. Manchester United have not only signed the aforementioned Anthony, but have also hired Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dubravka for the season.
Everton signed a couple of midfielders. Senegalese national team Idrissa Gouille returned to Goodison Park from PSG, and James Garner moved from Manchester United. Liverpool have also strengthened their midfield by signing Brazilian Arthur Melo from Juventus on a seasonal loan. Leicester City have signed a five-year contract with Belgian defender Reims Wout Faes. He will replace Wesley Fofan, who left for Chelsea for around £ 70m.
Nottingham Forest, continuing their crazy campaign, signed three players on the last day. The latest signing was Rennes defender Loic Bade. The club’s total signings are now 21. Fulham also had a busy last day of the transfer window. The hype involved four players, including former Chelsea and Arsenal winger Willian.
Chelsea concluded by loudly purchasing Aubameyang from Barcelona for two years and a year on loan for Zakaria from Juventus.
More significant updates
Of course, much attention was drawn to Chelsea’s politics, which changed the management of the club for the first time in many years. The new leadership did not come immediately at great expense. But gradually it came to taste. And now, in a transfer window, Chelsea have spent more money than any other club in Premier League history. Over 250 million pounds was spent on Sterling, Cucurella, Coulibaly, Aubameyang. Not only is this a Premier League record, it is also the second highest spend in a summer window after Real Madrid (£ 292m) in 2019.
At the same time, Manchester United broke the spending record and came second on the Premier League spending list. Summer “Manchester Unitedsigned Casemiro, Eriksen, Martinez, Anthony. Total costs amounted to approximately £ 214 million.
This summer was also marked by major forward signings. The focus was on the signings of Manchester City and Liverpool, who signed Haaland and Nunes respectively. But there was also the purchase of Aubameyang from Chelsea, Jesus from Arsenal. And West Ham signed Scamacca, Newcastle signed Isak. The last two transactions have become records for these clubs.
Bought a new team
Nottingham Forest are back in the Premier League for the first time since 1999. Apparently, they really want to stay in the elite. Stephen Cooper’s club has invested heavily, spending £ 145m to buy 21 players, effectively a new team. And this is a new British record for the number of recruits in a season.
The previous British record was set by the Crystal Palace in 2013, hiring 17 newcomers. The all-British record was previously held by Livingston and Dundee United, who signed 19 players each in 2001 and 2000 respectively.
By the way, Nottingham Forest could have signed 22 newcomers, but at the last minute the deal for Michy Batshuayi from Chelsea fell through.
Left with nothing
Against the background of such a transfer frenzy, troubled clubs had to appear, which are not ready to bear the cost race. It’s easy to spot them: the coaches directly complained about the bosses’ transfer liabilities. Already sacked from Bournemouth, Scott Parker expressed regret over the club’s lack of transfer activity.
Leicester also had a quiet summer. He only signed two rookies and allowed a number of established stars to leave, including goalkeeper Schmeichel and defender Fofan. The Foxes have started very badly in the league and seem to be sabotaging the manager or the management of the club. Coach Brendan Rodgers made no secret of his disappointment:
I understand the disappointment of the fans. They see that all the competitors are getting new players, but we are not. This is difficult to watch. We needed help, but we didn’t get it. On the market, we weren’t able to get the support we needed.
