The Premier League continues to lead the transfer market with outrageous transfer fees paid to clubs. One of the most notable Premier League most expensive transfers is Jack Grealish, who switched to Man City from Aston Villa at £105.75m, according to Transfermarkt.
Interestingly, English giants Man United was involved in four out of the top 10 Premier League most expensive signings ever made, which are Romelu Lukaku (£76.23m), Jadon Sancho (£76.50m), Harry Maguire (£78.30m) and Paul Pogba (£94.50m).
Big signings Premier League
But why are players associated with the Premier League often increasing their market value, and why do EPL clubs spend heavily on players?
The Premier League has the highest coverage globally of around 200 territories. It has the highest concentration of the biggest football clubs globally, attracting sponsorship deals and mouth-watering television broadcast deals.
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As per Transfermarkt, Manchester City, Man United, Arsenal, and Chelsea are the biggest spenders in the last ten years.
Man City, of course, has made significant gains, same for Chelsea, who had the most gains amongst the top spenders in the league.
Ranking the Premier League most expensive transfers – Top 10 signings
15. Riyad Mahrez – £61.02m (Leicester City to Man City, 2018)
Arguably the best forward in the Leicester City Premier League winning squad in 2016, Riyad Mahrez joined Man City for £61.02m.
Since he switched to Manchester, he has won numerous awards, including IFFHS CAF World’s Best Playmaker in 2021.
14. Rúben Dias – £61.20m (SL Benfica to Man City, 2020)
Ranked as one of the best centre backs in the Premier League, Rúben Dias moved to Manchester City for £61.20m.
Rúben Dias has been exceptional since he switched to Manchester City in 2020. He won the Premier League Player of the Season in his first season.
13. Ángel Di María – £67.50m (Real Madrid to Man United, 2014)
When players signed with a high transfer fee are mentioned, Ángel Di María isn’t an exclusion. In 2014, Man United signed the Argentine for £67.50m.
Di María remains one of the best Argentine football players in the English Premier League.
12. Erling Haaland – £67.50m (From Dortmund to Man City, 2022)
After much wait and unending speculation surrounding his future, Erling Haaland, 22, moved to Manchester City for £67.50m.
Seen as the future of Manchester City forward, Erling Haaland has a personal record of scoring 68 goals in 67 Bundesliga appearances.
The Norwegian would debut for Man City beginning in July ahead of 2022/23. Haaland is expected to fill the void left by Sergio Agüero.
11. Kevin De Bruyne – £68.40m (Vfl Wolfsburg to Man City)
By far the best football midfielder in the world right now, Kevin De Bruyne is one of the players behind Pep Guardiola’s success in the English Premier League.
Man City signed Kevin De Bruyne from Bundesliga side Vfl Wolfsburg for £68.40m in 2015. Perhaps, the Belgian remains one of the best signings made by Pep Guardiola throughout his managerial career.
De Bruyne, on the other hand, has won numerous Premier League awards, such as the Premier League Playmaker of the Season and Premier League Player of the Season two times, respectively.
The Belgian continues to improve ion himself and has been rated as one of the best football midfielders.
10. Kepa Arrizabalaga – £72.00m (Athletic Club to Chelsea, 2018)
Arguably one of the most impactful signings at Chelsea in his first year, Kepa Arrizabalaga is the most expensive Premier League goalkeeper. Chelsea paid £72.00m to Athletic Club Bilbao.
Kepa was brought to Chelsea as a replacement for Thibaut Courtois, who had returned to Spain to join Real Madrid. The Spaniard was the leading contender for Chelsea’s number one goalie due to his impressive stats in the Spanish league.
At Athletic Club, Kepa Arrizabalaga played for three seasons.
9. Nicolas Pépé – £72.00m (Lille to Arsenal, 2019)
Arsenal’s hopes of finding a natural goal scorer were said to have been found following the signing of Nicolas Pépé from Lille. The Gunners completed the deal for the Ivorian at £72.00m.
Although Arsenal had other choices, they opted for Pépé, who became one of the most expensive signings in the club’s history.
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Pépé was a prolific goal scorer who was tipped to succeed in the Premier League due to his flexibility, skill and talent. The Ivorian was the second-highest goalscorer in the 2018/19 season, with 22 goals behind Kylian Mbappé.
Coming to the Premier League, Pépé did show some flashes of brilliance in his first season with the club. But the Ivorian would only require time to adapt to the most competitive league in Europe.
8. Kai Havertz – £72.00m (Bayer Leverkusen to Chelsea, 2020)
A sensation, Kai Havertz drew the attention of Frank Lampard, who was only appointed to begin a new chapter at the club.
In 2020, Chelsea paid £72.00m to Bayer Leverkusen to complete the signing of Kai Havertz and make him one of the club’s most expensive signings.
Havertz had an impressive season in the German Bundesliga, clocking twelve goals and thirty appearances as an Attacking Midfielder.
7. Virgil van Dijk – £76.9m (Southampton to Liverpool, 2018)
Showing leadership qualities shot Virgil van Dijk into the limelight. After three years at Southampton, Liverpool splashed £76.19m on the Dutch footballer as part of Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool project.
Virgil van Dijk initially held the club transfer record as the most expensive football defender after Liverpool’s £76.19m cash was splashed in 2018.
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Virgil van Dijk is a complete Centre back who has excelled in the English Premier League with Liverpool. Having one of the best leadership qualities the league has to offer, van Dijk along with Andy Robertson, are Liverpool’s defensive stronghold.
For Virgil, swapping Southampton for Liverpool happens to be his best decision which is followed by a Champions League and a Premier League title under his belt.
6. Romelu Lukaku – £76.23m (Everton to Man United, 2016)
A spectacular performance sparked interest from the Manchester United backroom that led to Romelu Lukaku’s record move to Old Trafford. The Belgian joined the club for £76.23m.
At Everton, he scored 87 goals and provided 29 assists across 166 appearances.
5. Jadon Sancho – £76.50m (Dortmund to Man United, 2021)
One of the most sought after young players in the transfer market, Jadon Sancho finally moved to Man United for £76.50m, making him the most expensive young player.
Sancho had already shown his abilities in the German Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund, where he was ranked amongst the top five fastest players in the division. The Englishman also did not hide his desire to play for a bigger club.
At Dortmund, Sancho won the DFB-Pokal and came close to winning the Bundesliga. However, at Man United, his first season wasn’t his best compared with his form at Dortmund, which convinced the club to consider him the primary target.
4. Harry Maguire – £78.30m (Leicester City to Man United, 2019)
Harry Maguire was the best option for Man United following his brilliance that helped Leicester City win their first-ever Premier League title in 2016.
Man United paid £78.30m for Harry Maguire at Leicester, making him the most expensive football defender ahead of Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk.
3. Paul Pogba – £94.50m (Juventus to Man United, 2016)
Paul Pogba made a sensational return to the Premier League following United’s desire to reunite their former academy prospect with their new project.
Paul Pogba moved to Manchester United from Juventus for £94.50m. The Frenchman immediately impacted the first team and was part of the club’s Europa League winning squad.
2. Romelu Lukaku – £101.70m (Inter Milan to Chelsea, 2021)
Romelu Lukaku returned to the English Premier League following an impressive season in the Italian Serie A with Inter Milan, winning for the first time in eleven years and emerging as the top scorer.
Chelsea, convinced by Romelu Lukaku, paid a club-record fee of £97.7 to Inter Milan at the end of the 2020/2021 season. Lukaku had an average goal scoring ratio of 0.5 per game.
Chelsea’s record fee makes it Romelu Lukaku’s second record transfer in the Premier League after his initial switch from Everton to Manchester United cost the Red Devils £76.23m.
Lukaku had impressive stats that made Thomas Tuchel consider him to be the right option that would solve Chelsea’s goalscoring problems. 64 goals in 95 games for two seasons was more than enough to assess a striker’s quality, of course.
1. Jack Grealish £105.75m (Aston Villa to Man City, 2021)
Jack Grealish doubles as the Premier League’s most expensive signing and the most expensive British footballer of all time after Manchester City activated his £105.75m release clause at Aston Villa.
MORE: Man City most expensive signings ever
Grealish is arguably the best player at Villa. The English forward led the club through the EFL Championship playoffs and established himself as one of the best playmakers following Villa’s return to the top flight, including the 7-2 humiliation of Liverpool.
Great expectations followed Jack Grealish’s switch to Man City. The Englishman started slowly, but Pep Guardiola was not prepared to let him fully adapt to his system.
Wrapping up
Modern football is associated with money since clubs aim to get quick results in the short term rather than starting from scratch. But has this affected the sport in any way?
The latest trends, shirt sleeve, managers, training kits, stadiums roofs, and medics kit bag sponsorship brings money to clubs which is behind the heavy spending in the Premier League.
