Premier League clubs spent £180 million during the January transfer window, marking the first decline since 2012, according to Deloitte's football finance experts. The figure is a dramatic drop from the £430 million splashed out in the same period last year, when high-profile moves included Virgil van Dijk (£75 million) and Aymeric Laporte (£57 million).
Nearly a third of this year's total came from Chelsea's £55 million acquisition of Christian Pulisic from Borussia Dortmund. Other notable deadline-day deals included Miguel Almiron's £21 million move to Newcastle and Jonny Otto's £15 million transfer to Wolves. However, several major transactions saw players leaving Premier League clubs, such as Brahim Diaz to Real Madrid (£15.5 million) and Mousa Dembele to Guangzhou R&F (£11 million).
Tim Bridge, director in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, commented: 'As we approach a decisive phase of the season, Premier League clubs' January transfer spending has been relatively muted in comparison to what we have seen in previous years.' The Big Six accounted for 43% of the expenditure, down from 62% last January, while bottom-six clubs spent just £20 million, compared to £70 million last season.
Total gross spending for the 2018/19 season now stands at an estimated £1.4 billion, the second-highest on record following the £1.9 billion splurge in 2017/18. Meanwhile, Championship clubs spent £60 million, more than double last year's £30 million.
