Transfer Window Summer 2023 - part 1

I Just Can't Be Happy Today

Now that the transfer window has closed, we can all take a deep breath, calm down and focus on what is happening on the pitch. That said, it sometimes feels as if football fans are more interested in the transfer market than the league table, so let’s take a look at the financial implications of all the ins and outs.

Transfer Window Summer 2023

Premier League clubs broke through the £2 bln barrier for a single transfer window for the first time in summer 2023. In fact, they obliterated the previous record, as gross transfer spend shot up nearly half a billion (24%) from £1,965m to £2,445m.

This was the second year in a row that the Premier League had set a new high, as both of the last two seasons have been significantly more than the pre-pandemic peak of £1.4 bln.

However, the Premier League also established a new record for player sales, which rose by half a billion (56%) from £890m to £1.4 bln in 2023. Player sales fell during the COVID pandemic, as clubs had to tighten their belts, but they have bounced back and gone even higher since restrictions were lifted.

As a result, net transfer spend was virtually unchanged at £1.1 bln, though this was still a fair bit more than the pre-pandemic peak of £905m in 2020. To underline the new heights reached by Premier League clubs, net spend of £2.1 bln in the last two years is more than the previous three years combined.