EPL Spending Slumps In January Transfer Window

Premier League spending slumped by more than two-thirds to a nine-year low of just £70 million ($96 million) in the January transfer window as the coronavirus crisis hit budgets.
The outlay was dramatically down on last year’s £230 million expenditure, which came just weeks before the Covid-19 pandemic shut down football across Europe.
And it is in sharp contrast to a bumper summer transfer window, when English top-flight clubs spent freely, meaning total net expenditure for the 2020/21 season reached a new record level of £950 million.
Just £7 million was spent on deadline day as the Premier League comes to terms with the financial impact of the virus and new Brexit rules that make it tougher to recruit young players from Europe.
The figures, from financial experts Deloitte, showed there were a total of 24 Premier League transfers in the winter window 48 percent fewer than the average for the previous three January transfer windows.
Just three £10-million-plus signings — West Ham turning Said Benrahma’s loan from Brentford into a permanent deal, Amad Diallo’s move to Manchester United and Aston Villa’s capture of Morgan Sanson, accounted for more than 75 percent of Premier League expenditure.
Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal were the only “big six” Premier League clubs to bring in new players, even though the race has been one of the most open in years.
Arsenal terminated the contracts of high earners Mesut Ozil, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Shkodran Mustafi early to cut wage costs.
Champions Liverpool borrowed much-needed defensive cover in the form of Schalke’s Ozan Kabak, along with a low-cost permanent deal for Preston’s Ben Davies.
“I think it’s probably clear that in a normal transfer window, without any issues, we would not look at Preston if there’s a player for us or something like that,” said Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp on the surprise move for Davies.