Premier League transfers: January spending exceeds last year with one week left
Manchester City’s surprisingly poor defense of the Premier League title has seen Pep Guardiola make three big-money signings – with more to come.
City have signed Eintracht Frankfurt forward Omar Marmoush (£59m), Palmeiras defender Vitor Reis (£29.6m) and Lens centre-back Abdukodir Khusanov (£33.6m).
They had not made a significant January signing since the £57m signing of Aymeric Laporte in 2018.
Paul McDonald of footballtransfer.com said: “In January 2023, £815m was spent and that was 28.4% of all transfer fees spent that season – the highest of any year in the last decade.
“But there were some mitigating factors. Chelsea alone were responsible for £286 million of this. We also saw a sense of desperation in the sides who were in danger of relegation – Leeds, Southampton, Leicester, who would ultimately lose – And Bournemouth spent more than £200m between them in an attempt to avoid the drop.
“But 2024 saw a complete reset – £96 million was spent, just 3.9% of the season’s total outlay, as teams appeared happy with their share and, crucially, deeply mindful of the looming PSR restrictions were conscious and chose to retain any spending power during the summer window.”
Profits and sustainability rules have hampered clubs – Everton and Nottingham Forest received points deductions last season for breaking Premier League spending rules.
No club has violated the rules this year.
McDonald said: “2025 is shaping up to be a more active window than last year, with Manchester City extremely active.
“But they have headroom after securing a very strong PSR position courtesy of their quiet summer business and others like Manchester United may not be as lucky.
“Liverpool probably also have PSR headroom, but their focus is likely to be on renewal rather than acquisitions, as Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah are still very much up front.
“And Chelsea are still trying to find a balance by offloading some of the players they brought in – but again, they are looking for a better place to extract value for those deemed surplus to requirements in the summer window.” Can be seen as.”
