Premier League clubs spent just £96.2m on 12 permanent signings for disclosed fees during window; spending represents eightfold decline from last year; Crystal Palace spent league-high £30.5m on signings; Aston Villa only club to recoup cash from sales with £2m for Finn Azaz
Friday 2 February 2024 12:22, UK
Premier League clubs spent just £96.2m on new signings during the January window - the lowest winter spending in three years, with the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) slashing clubs' spending power.
The outlay represents an eightfold decline from last year when Premier League clubs spent a record-breaking £780m during the window.
Only Aston Villa generated cash from player sales for disclosed fees, offloading Finn Azaz to Middlesbrough for £2m.
This article was last updated on February 2 at 1.21am. All transfer fees include potential add-ons and exclude undisclosed fees.
Eight clubs signed players for disclosed fees, with Crystal Palace splashing a league-topping £30.5m on Blackburn midfielder Adam Wharton (£22m) and Genk right-back Daniel Munoz (£8.5m).
Tottenham spent £26.7m on Genoa centre-back Radu Dragusin, while Manchester City (£12.5m), Aston Villa (£9.3m), Brighton (£7.9m), Nottingham Forest (£5m), Brentford (£2.6m) and Luton (£1.7m) also recruited players for registered fees.
Dragusin was the most expensive player in the window, followed by Wharton and new Manchester City prospect Claudio Echeverri (£12.5m).
Munoz, Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa from Middlesbrough for £8.5m), Valentin Barco (Brighton from Boca Juniors for £7.9m), Matz Sels (Nottingham Forest from Strasbourg for £5m), Hakon Valdimarsson (Brentford from Elfsborg for £2.6m), Daiki Hashioka (Luton from Sint-Truidense for £1.7m) and Joe Gauci (Aston Villa from Adelaide United for £1.3m) also moved to the Premier League for disclosed fees.
Players in
In total, there were 43 signings for fees, on loans or as free agents.
Headline incoming loan deals included Kalvin Phillips (Manchester City to West Ham), Armando Broja (Chelsea to Fulham), Sergio Reguilon (Tottenham to Brentford), Timo Werner (RB Leipzig to Tottenham) and Ben Brereton Diaz (Villarreal to Sheffield United).
Burnley signed three players on loan, while Brentford, Sheffield United and Nottingham Forest drafted two on short-term deals, with another four clubs signing one player.
In terms of undisclosed fees, Brighton signed five players, Burnley drafted three, Aston Villa and Luton signed two and another five clubs recruited one.
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Players out
Teams were far busier cutting their rosters with 150 players leaving for pastures new, of which 121 left on loan - either on a temporary basis or with an option to make the move permanent.
Manchester United offloaded a league-topping 12 players on loan deals, including the likes of Jadon Sancho, Donny van de Beek and Hannibal, while Wolves (10), Liverpool and Burnley (nine each) also sanctioned numerous loan departures.
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PSR, also known as Profit and Sustainability Rules for the well-versed, can be an enigma. A mystery. A good way of avoiding questions about your transfer plans.
The one thing we all know is there are some hefty spreadsheets involved, and in recent times more than a few run-ins with the authorities.
You may be more familiar with the term FFP, or Financial Fair Play, since rules were first introduced by the Premier League in 2013 - and this is the same thing, just with a different hat on. Both the Premier League and UEFA have stopped using the term FFP, and both now go by the 'PSR' moniker instead.
Everton were docked 10 points in November for falling foul of the Premier League's financial regulations - and alongside Nottingham Forest have now been charged with further excess spending - while Manchester City have been under investigation by the league for nearly a year regarding more than 100 alleged breaches spanning almost a decade.
So what is it in the rules stopping Arsenal putting down big money on a new striker in this window, or Todd Boehly adding another £1bn onto his wishlist at Chelsea?
