Summary of the key findings from the Report by Deloitte’s Sports Business Group:
- Premier League clubs spent £295m in the January 2022 transfer window, the second highest January transfer window spend ever. An overview of Premier League clubs’ player transfer spending in each of the January transfer windows (2003 – 2022) is set out in the chart below;
- Premier League clubs recorded a record January transfer window net transfer spend of £180m in January 2022 (2021: net spend of £45m; 2020: net spend of £165m; 2019: net spend of £55m; 2018: net spend of £90m; 2017: net receipts of £40m);
- As in the January 2021 window, three of the Premier League’s top six revenue generating clubs spent in the 2022 January transfer window. However, spending totalled c.£75m compared to c.£25m in January 2021;
- Premier League clubs’ deadline day expenditure totalled c.£80m, compared to deadline day expenditure of £7m in January 2021.
- Premier League gross spend for the 2021/22 season totals £1.4bn (combining Summer 2021 and January 2022 transfer windows). This is c.£85m higher than total gross spend in the 2020/21 season and is the fourth highest gross spend in a season ever (see chart below);
- The volume of Premier League transfers in in this year’s January transfer window increased by 80% to a total of 36 transfers, including loans, compared to 20 transfers in January 2021;
- Premier League clubs spent just £1m with English Football League clubs, the lowest amount since the January transfer window was introduced in 2003.
- Championship clubs spent a total of £20m during the January 2022 window, £15m higher than January 2021, but c.57% of the total spend in January 2020 (£35m);
- Since the introduction of the player transfer window system in January 2003, aggregate gross player transfer spending by Premier League clubs has exceeded £16.5 billion, with this representing c.28% as a proportion of aggregate revenue. Around 17% (£2.8 billion) of the aggregate gross player transfer spend has been in the January transfer windows;
- The Premier League was the highest-spending league amongst Europe’s ‘big five’ leagues in the January transfer window (£295m / €355m), followed by Serie A (£145m / €175m), La Liga (£65m / €75m), Ligue 1 (£55m / €65m), Bundesliga (£50m / €60m).
For further information and analysis/comment, log onto the Deloittte’s Sport Business Group Press Release of 1 February 2022 at: ‘https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/pages/press-releases/articles/premier-league-clubs-spend-295-million-in-january-transfer-window.html’