Premier League hits record £3bn transfer spree as three clubs send clear message

Newly-promoted Leeds, Burnley and Sunderland have sent a message of intent in the Premier League’s record-breaking transfer window.

All three clubs spent in excess of £90m and Sunderland splashed out a staggering £167m with 15 new signings, 17 exits and six new contracts. Former Arsenal captain Granit Xhaka was maybe the most eye-catching deal of all for the Black Cats - and what a start it has given them.

Sunderland have already enjoyed two wins from their opening three games and the mood at the Stadium of Light is bouncing. Leeds and Burnley have also spent big in the Premier League’s incredible supermarket sweep this summer as transfers totalled in excess of £3billion for the first time.

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That is a record figure but the newly-promoted teams is particularly eye-catching because they are trying to buck a worrying trend. In each of the last two seasons, the three newly-promoted sides went straight back down which is a bad look and incredibly unhealthy for the Premier League.

To remain competitive and also exciting, you cannot have a league which effectively has no relegation - just three up and three down. It was all too predictable and reduces the quality of competition overall.

Incredibly, there was a 23 point gulf between Leicester - third from bottom - and Tottenham in 17th which suggests the Premier League was not competitive.

This time, the Premier League has already seen a change. Leeds and Sunderland won in the first match round. Burnley won their second game.

That is the first time since 2016/17 all three newly-promoted clubs have won a game within the first two match rounds.

Liverpool smashed their record twice with deals for Florian Wirtz and then, most eye-catching of all, the £130m deal for Alexander Isak. The best are trying to get better but the new boys are determined to keep up in a window which shows just how much money there is in football.

The other key issues are:

• The overall spend was a new record of £3billion
• The top four spent more than in previous seasons
• There was a record of £1.8 billion in sales - resulting in a net spend of £1.2 billion
• Brentford, Burnley, Sunderland, Nottingham Forest and Liverpool all broke their transfer records
• There were 35 transfers between Premier League clubs
• The deals between the 20 Premier League clubs totalled an eye-watering £1billion
• There were 135 transfers into Prem clubs with 22 loans
• The average age of new signings was just under 23 which reflects a move towards youth

Nine Premier League clubs are also having to navigate UEFA’s stricter squad cost ratio rules as well as Profit and Sustainability Rules Aston Villa are on UEFA’s hit-list, having been fined £9.5m with a further £12.9m conditional on compliance in a three-year period

Newcastle have spent in excess of £500m in the three years since the Saudi-led takeover The Premier League will undoubtedly be under the spotlight after the record spend and questions are certain to be asked why still no deal with the EFL has been reached.

However, it has been a remarkable transfer window and has been a circus with so many sagas, big deals and exciting arrivals.

Perhaps a tweet from campaign group SaveGrassRootsFooty will remind some people… “Premier League clubs spend £3.19bn in this summers transfer window, while at the base of the pyramid the starting place for every football player, kids are struggling to pay their £3/£4/£5 weekly subs.”

But, when all said and done, arguably every fan of every Premier League club wanted their team to spend a bit more before the window shut. Because, as Leeds, Sunderland and Burnley are proving, staying in the top flight is everything.

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