Premier League clubs have broken the all-time transfer spending record after investing a combined £3.4 billion in new signings during the 2026 summer window — almost three times the £1.2bn spent in the 2016/17 season a decade ago.

The previous record of £3.2bn, set just 12 months earlier, was surpassed following another extraordinary window that underlined the Premier League's financial firepower. Clubs simultaneously recouped £2.2bn from player sales, producing a collective net spend of £1.2bn.

Manchester City lead the spending charts

Manchester City were the division's biggest spenders, committing £440.3m during the window. Chelsea followed with £342.4m, Tottenham Hotspur with £322m, and Newcastle United with £275.2m.

Liverpool topped the net spend table at £219.4m, ahead of Ipswich (£170.7m), Tottenham Hotspur (£164m), and Arsenal (£136.6m). At the opposite end, Aston Villa ended the window in profit — generating £314.6m from sales to record a surplus of £62.8m.

Enzo Fernandez sets the price

The summer's most expensive deal saw Enzo Fernandez move from Chelsea to Manchester City in a transfer worth up to £125m — matching Alexander Isak's move from Newcastle United to Liverpool as the all-time Premier League transfer record.

Bradley Barcola (£123m) and Morgan Rogers (£117m) also featured among the window's landmark moves, while Elliot Anderson joined Manchester City for £116m and Sandro Tonali moved to Tottenham Hotspur for £100m. In total, 20 players arrived at Premier League clubs for fees of £50m or above.

A busy window for moves in and out

Hull and Ipswich were the most active buyers, each completing 15 permanent signings. Chelsea followed with 13, while Brighton and Coventry each brought in 11, and Aston Villa added nine.

On the sales side, Brighton moved the most players on permanently — 24 departures — ahead of Aston Villa (23), Crystal Palace (22), and Ipswich (21).

Championship clubs also break records

One division below, Championship clubs set their own record with total spending of £289.3m, surpassing the previous high of £204.2m set last summer. Sales across the division reached £461.4m, resulting in a collective transfer profit of £172.1m.

Stoke, Wrexham, and Norwich recorded the highest net spends in the Championship, while West Ham United, Burnley, and Southampton generated the largest transfer profits from their player sales.