Manchester City and Arsenal deals for Aymeric Laporte and Pierre-Emerick Aubmeyang set to take Premier League’s January spending to a record £300m
Premier League clubs are on course to set a new record for January spending, with two days of the winter window still remaining.
Arsenal’s expected £53m signing of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Borussia Dortmund and Manchester City’s imminent £57m deal for Athletic Bilbao’s Aymeric Laporte are set to take the combined gross spend for England’s top flight this month to £300m.
The previous highest spend of £225m came in 2011, when Chelsea signed Fernando Torres and Liverpool replaced him with Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll in a dramatic conclusion to the January window.
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Premier League spending approached 2011 levels 12 months ago, when fees amounted to £215m. By Friday morning, this month’s total had already reached £190m, according to Deloitte.
Beyond Aubameyang and Laporte, significant further business is anticipated. Chelsea, West Ham, Tottenham and Newcastle are among the clubs expected to make moves before the deadline on Wednesday 11pm.
England’s top division sides have already broken their spending record for a summer window in the last year. They invested £1.43bn by the August 2017 deadline, beating the previous best by £365m.
The spending underlines the financial strength of Premier League teams relative to their European rivals, due in the main to lucrative broadcast contracts that guarantee all clubs at least £100m a year.
Manchester United were last week named the richest club in world football, as determined by revenue, after they retained top spot in Deloitte’s Football Money League. Six English teams occupied the top 11 places, with 10 in the top 20.
Read more: Man Utd named world’s richest club ahead of Real Madrid