The summer transfer window shut close on Thursday, August 9, 2019, in the Premier League. After voting to end all business on the day before the first game of every season is played, English clubs were forced to complete their signings earlier than their European rivals.
Nonetheless, as is a norm with the Premier League, the 1 billion mark was crossed in expenditure. Nearly one-and-a-half billion pounds was spent by all 20 clubs in the English top-flight, roughly £1.4BN to be exact, which translates into approximately $1.7BN.
The biggest spenders of the 20 Premier League clubs were Manchester United. This comes as little surprise given that they broke the record for the highest transfer fee for a defender, previously held by Virgil Van Dijk, when they signing Harry Maguire for £80M ($97M).
The addition of Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Daniel James meant the Red Devils splashed a whopping £148M ($179M). In a close second was Aston Villa, spending a shocking £144.5M ($175M) despite having just secured promotion, with the Villans recruiting Tyrone Mings, Douglas Luiz, and Matt Targett.
In third is Arsenal, which isn't a shock, given the £72M ($87M) they spent on Nicolas Pepe, a club record. Completing the top five highest spenders are Man City (£134.8M/$163M) and Everton (£118.5M/$143.3M).
On the other end of the list are Norwich (£1.1M/$1.3M), Liverpool (£4.4M/$5.3M), and Crystal Palace (£11M/$13.3M). The Reds are one of two top-six sides – the other being Chelsea in 16th with £40M/$48M – to be in the bottom five of the highest spenders. Given that Klopp did not lose any key names over the summer, the lack of spending from the European champions is understandable.
Graphic courtesy of Sky Sports
In terms of net spending, Aston Villa and Arsenal sit ahead of Man United mainly due to the fees the Red Devils recouped with the sale of Lukaku to Inter Milan. When taking into consideration the players bought and the players sold, no club made a bigger profit this summer than Chelsea mainly due to the departure of Eden Hazard, with the Blues profiting £173.2M ($209M) in the transfer window.
Premier League net spend for the summer 2019 transfer window...
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) August 9, 2019
