From Andy Carroll to Virgil van Dijk and Mykhailo Mudryk: Here are the five biggest transfer windows in Premier League history
Premier League clubs took their January transfer window spending to unprecedented levels last month with a combined outlay of more than £550m. Here are the top five busiest January transfer windows in Premier League history, ranked by fees paid.
2023: £550m+
Chelsea led the way in the Premier League’s biggest winter window to date, signing more than half a dozen players including Mykhailo Mudryk, Benoit Badiashile and Noni Madueke as new owner Todd Boehly continued his squad overhaul.
2018: £430m
Virgil van Dijk’s move to Liverpool, Arsenal’s signing of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Aymeric Laporte joining Manchester City were among the top deals when England’s top clubs set their previous January transfer window spending record five years ago.
2022: £295m
English teams put any remaining pandemic frugality firmly behind them last year, with the biggest trend being Newcastle United putting their Saudi-backed funds to use by spending more than £90m on four new signings, including Bruno Guimaraes and Kieran Trippier.
2020: £230m
Manchester United’s £68m acquisition of Bruno Fernandes from Sporting Lisbon helped propel Premier League clubs to what was at the time their second biggest January total.
2011: £225m
This was the January transfer window that drew to a breathless climax with Chelsea buying Fernando Torres and Liverpool signing both Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll – whose careers diverged dramatically thereafter – and proved an outlier for seven years.