Big6 has invested over a billion! This summer transfer window, the Premier League is going wild!

Author/Cold Ice With more than a month remaining until the summer transfer window closes for the 2025/26 season, as of 00:00 local time on July 25 in the UK, including the medical examination for Kai Laches in London, the Premier League's summer transfer investment has exceeded €1.966 billion, surpassing the total of the four major European leagues (€1.842 billion). Given that the top six teams in the Premier League still have a strong desire to purchase high-priced superstars, along with the traditional last-minute "shopping spree" habit of relegation-threatened teams, the ultimate goal for the Premier League this summer transfer window is, of course, to break the historical investment record set in the 2023/24 season (€2.803 billion).

Currently, all six major clubs have invested over €140 million, with Liverpool (€309 million), Chelsea (€244 million), and Arsenal (€231 million) all surpassing €200 million. Manchester United (€153 million), Manchester City (€146 million), and Tottenham (€141 million) have not yet accounted for the newly promoted Sunderland's investment of €116 million. So far, in the four major European leagues, only five clubs have invested over €100 million this summer: Real Madrid (€168 million), Atlético Madrid (€153 million), Juventus (€119 million), Bayer Leverkusen, and Como (€102 million).

Just this week, the Premier League has seen three major signings with transfer fees exceeding €70 million: Mbeumo (€75 million, Manchester United) on July 21, Ekitiqué (€95 million, Liverpool) on July 23, and the soon-to-be-announced Kai Laches (€73.5 million, Arsenal). Among the top 10 highest transfer fees so far this summer, apart from Osimhen (€75 million, Galatasaray) and Retegui (€68.25 million, Al Ahli), all are from the Premier League. There are 16 players with transfer fees over €50 million, with the Premier League dominating with 12, and only Elanga (€61.4 million, Newcastle United) not being a traditional top six signing.

In this scorching summer, the Premier League, especially the traditional top six, resembles an unstoppable "black hole," nearly absorbing most of the top stars in the market.

This summer transfer window, the top six in the Premier League are the absolute protagonists. Last summer, Liverpool invested only €42 million, but this summer they splurged €309 million, setting a club record; Manchester City, who invested €25 million last summer, spent €218 million in the winter window, and this summer, under the pressure of over 100 violations of financial fair play, they have spent €146 million; including Kai Laches, Arsenal's investment this summer has reached €231 million, more than double last year's (€109 million), just €4 million short of their historical summer investment record (€235 million, 2023).

Chelsea continues its "money-burning" tradition since the American takeover in 2022, with summer investments reaching €244 million, ranking fifth in club history. Except for the unbeatable summer of 2022 (€464 million), it is almost certain to reach the second-highest investment in club history by the close of the transfer window. Chelsea also secured over €100 million in bonuses by winning the Club World Cup, thanks to the signing of João Pedro (€63.7 million) during that period, allowing them to continue investing in the market; even the Premier League's lowest spending team, Tottenham, has spent over €140 million, just €14 million less than their total investment last summer.

The last time all six Premier League clubs invested over €100 million in the summer transfer window was two years ago, and at that time it was mainly driven by Chelsea. That summer, Paris Saint-Germain invested nearly €350 million, and there were also three new Saudi oil clubs involved: Al Hilal, Al Ittihad, and Al Nassr. In the top 10 clubs by investment during the transfer window, only six were from the Premier League, and their investment advantage over other leagues is far less than this summer—this summer, the top 10 clubs have collectively spent €2.619 billion, with the Premier League's six clubs accounting for €1.57 billion, only 60%. Currently, the top 10 clubs by investment this summer have collectively spent €1.778 billion, with the Premier League accounting for seven clubs (€1.339 billion), making up a staggering 75.3%!

Even more astonishing, this summer the Premier League has claimed 8 of the top 10 transfer fees and 12 of the top 16. Wirtz (€125 million, Liverpool), Ekitiqué (€95 million, Liverpool), Mbeumo (€75 million, Manchester United), Cunha (€74.2 million, Manchester United), Kai Laches (€73.5 million, Arsenal), and Soumaré (€70 million, Arsenal) occupy five of the top six spots, with only Osimhen (€75 million, Galatasaray) breaking the Premier League's dominance in the top six. In the top 16 transfer fees, apart from Osimhen and Retegui, there are also Real Madrid’s Joselu (€62.5 million) and Carrelas (€50 million), who are not from the Premier League.

The last time all six Premier League teams invested over €100 million in the summer transfer window was in 2023, when only six of the top 10 transfer fees were from the Premier League, and only three of the top six. Among the 27 players with transfer fees over €50 million, 16 are from the Premier League, accounting for 59.3%. This summer, not only do the top 10 transfer fees currently feature 8 from the Premier League, but the proportion of players with transfer fees over €50 million has also skyrocketed to 75%. Only Real Madrid can slightly compete with the Premier League's top six among the four major European leagues, while Bayern is still trying to sign Liverpool's winger Díaz for around €80 million, which may secure a spot in the top 10 transfer fees.

In contrast, the investment of the Premier League's top six shows no signs of cooling down. Newcastle striker Isak, valued at €120 million, is negotiating with Liverpool, with hopes of surpassing Wirtz to become the new record holder in the Premier League. The Magpies have offered a staggering £150 million (€173 million), but Liverpool seems determined to secure the signing.

Crystal Palace midfielder Eze is increasingly close to Arsenal, with a potential transfer fee of £68 million (€78.5 million). Additionally, there are forwards Rodrigo (Arsenal), Openda, midfielder Gibbs-White (Tottenham), midfielder Simons (Chelsea), forward Šeško, midfielder Edson (Manchester United), and defender Gakpo (Liverpool) with transfer fees exceeding €50 million.

In comparison, apart from Bayern showing interest in signing Liverpool's winger Díaz at a high price, other major clubs in the four major European leagues have almost ceased operations. Paris Saint-Germain's only "€50 million+" target this summer is Bournemouth defender Zabarnyi. In La Liga, apart from Real Madrid, which has basically completed its signings, Barcelona, the only club likely to bring in a high-priced superstar, is still troubled by registration issues. The three northern Serie A teams are unable to sign high-priced players with transfer fees exceeding €50 million.

In 2023, when the Premier League set a record for summer transfer investment, it did not surpass the total investment of the four major European leagues. Will this summer achieve this feat?