Yet another frantic and extravagant summer transfer market has come and gone, and Premier League clubs did not hesitate to invest heavily into their squads.
With the transfer window officially slamming shut last night, many of Europe's top clubs have strengthened significantly in the hopes of achieving success on the pitch in what is bound to be a most gruelling 2022/23 season.
Premier League teams collectively came within touching distance of the £2billion threshold, having splashed out a combined £1,925billion throughout the summer. According to football website transfermarkt.com, the 20 PL teams laid out just £50million less than the 78 clubs in Europe's other top five domestic leagues (LaLiga, Serie A, Bundesliga, Ligue 1) put together.
Two of the Premier League's 'big six' spent above £200million while seven sides in England's top flight made club-record signings, including Liverpool who bought attacker Darwin Nuñez in a deal worth up to £85million, and Tottenham who paid £60million for Richarlison from Everton.
Newcastle Utd smashed its record arrival as they secured the services of Swedish striker Alexander Isak from Real Sociedad, costing the Magpies in the region of £60million. West Ham signed midfielder Lucas Paquetá from French outfit Lyon and the transfer for the Brazilian international could reach a value of £50million with add-ons.
Wolves signed Portugal midfielder Matheus Nunes for a club-record fee of £38million, while they sold Morgan Gibbs-White to Nottingham Forest for an initial £25million which may rise to a sum in excess of £42million. Brentford paid a club-record £16million to Championship side Hull City for 21-year-old English forward Keane Lewis-Potter.
Chelsea coughed up almost £250million of which a whopping £160million was put towards buying three defenders in Kalidou Koulibaly, Marc Cucurella and Wesley Fofana. The Blues also added two attacking options in Raheem Sterling and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for a joint £60million, as well as 18-year-old midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka for £20million. On deadline day Chelsea loaned in Swiss midfielder Denis Zakaria from Juventus.
Man United also spent big in Erik ten Hag's first window as manager, and the Red Devils surpassed the £200million barrier for the first time in its history. United acquired three players from the Eredivisie with two of them – Lisandro Martínez and Antony – joining from Ajax to reunite with Ten Hag. Martínez and Antony cost a combined £130million while United also spent big on seasoned midfielder Casemiro, who signed at Old Trafford for a £60million transfer fee. Christian Eriksen arrived on a free transfer.
It was a relatively quiet window for reigning Premier League champions Man City who added five new players to its ranks, of which only one immediately walked into Pep Guardiola's strongest XI. The Citizens activated Erling Haaland's £64,5million (€75m) release clause at Borussia Dortmund, before spending a further £45million on English midfielder Kalvin Phillips from Leeds Utd. City also bought defenders Manuel Akanji from Dortmund and Sergio Gomez from Anderlecht, with the duo arriving for a combined £26million.
Tottenham were unusually busy in the market as they forked out around £150million on several new faces. Richarlison switched from Everton for a club-record fee rising to £60million while Yves Bissouma left Brighton for Spurs, costing £25million. Cristian Romero's move was made permanent following a loan from Atalanta, setting Spurs back a further £42million.
Djed Spence joined the North Londoners for £13million, centre-back Clement Lenglet was brought in on a loan deal, while Ivan Perišić and Fraser Forster signed on free transfers.
Perhaps the most economical spenders this summer were Nottingham Forest. The newly-promoted side eclipsed the British record for the most incoming transfers in a single window, acquiring as many as 21 new players for no more than £150million. Forest are looking to retain their Premier League status beyond the current season and have signed a handful of household names who boast lots of experience in the top flight, such as Jesse Lingard who signed on a free transfer from Man United.
Other additions at The City Ground include Neco Williams from Liverpool (£17m), Emmanuel Dennis from Watford (£20m), Willy Boly (£2m) and club-record signing Gibbs-White both from Wolves. Cheikhou Kouyaté and Wayne Hennessey signed on a free transfer from Crystal Palace and Burnley, respectively, while goalkeeper Dean Henderson joined on loan from Man United as did Renan Lodi from Atlético Madrid.
Forest also bought striker Taiwo Awoniyi from Union Berlin, midfielder Remo Freuler from Atalanta, and left-back Omar Richards from Bayern Munich. Those three deals cost a combined £35million. 11 players departed from Trentside at the end of last season, most of them on free transfers or having returned to their parent clubs following loan spells.
Across Europe, Bayern Munich strengthened in most areas as they purchased Sadio Mané from Liverpool (€40m), Dutch defender Matthijs de Ligt from Juventus (€70m up-front + €10m in bonuses), and midfielder Ryan Gravenberch from Ajax (€23m with add-ons). The Bavarians also signed right-back Noussair Mazraoui on a free transfer from Ajax and talented French starlet Mathys Tel, 17, from Stade Rennais (€20m rising to €28,5m).
Paris Saint-Germain underwent a complete overhaul in midfield as the quartet of Vitinha, Renato Sanches, Fabian Ruiz, and Carlos Soler signed in the French capital for a joint €97,5million. Georginio Wijnaldum (Roma), Ander Herrera (Athletic Bilbao), and Leandro Paredes (Juventus) all left PSG on loan while Idrissa Gueye rejoined Everton on a permanent move.
The Parisians strengthened in defence with right-back Nordi Mukiele (€12m) and they also completed the long-term acquisition of Nuno Mendes from Sporting CP (€40m).
Cash-strapped Barcelona made six new signings as Brazilian playmaker Raphinha joined from Leeds Utd in a deal worth €64million, striker Robert Lewandowski moved from Bayern (€50m), and defender Jules Koundé left Sevilla (€50m). Franck Kessié, Andreas Christensen, Marcos Alonso, and Hector Bellerín all signed at the Camp Nou on free transfers.
The five most expensive deals of the 2022 summer window cost a total €400million, compared to €440million last year and €340million in 2020. Four of the top five most expensive transfers this summer were made by Premier League teams.
Man Utd's new addition Antony was the highest up-front transfer fee this summer at €95million, while his countryman Casemiro (€70m) sits at #5 on the list. Darwin Nuñez's move from Benfica to Liverpool has an initial value of €75million but could rise to €100million with future add-ons. Wesley Fofana also makes the top five following his €80million switch from Leicester City to Chelsea.
The most expensive transfer outside of the Premier League came from Spain, where Real Madrid splashed €80million on 22-year-old midfielder Aurélien Tchouameni. The Frenchman's predecessor, Casemiro, was the only player aged above 25 in the ten most expensive transfers this summer.
The average age among the top 10 transfers this past window was 23 years & 2 months.