Premier League clubs have already spent more in four days this summer – a total of £185.5m – than they did in the entire January transfer window.
Top flight teams have been battling towards what has been described as the “unofficial transfer deadline” on Sunday, and more deals will be announced on Monday.
To avoid charges and potential point deductions, clubs must comply with Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) – and June 30 was a key date.
The summer transfer window doesn’t officially close until Friday 30th August, but as Nottingham Forest found out to their cost last season, some Premier League clubs needed to do business early.
Who has been most active?
Aston Villa, Everton, Chelsea and Newcastle have been the busiest since the window opened on June 14.
Village recorded a loss of £119 million in their latest accounts, dated May 31, 2023, therefore needed to act quickly to avoid any breach.
Everton was scored six points last season for two separate breaches, while Chelsea have spent around £1 billion since acquiring the Todd Boehly-led consortium in 2023.
Most of these Chelsea signings were recruited on deals lasting at least six years to spread payments over a long period, limiting losses per year to help meet PSR requirements.
Meanwhile, Newcastle were reported still have a £50m deficit as of Saturday morning – so needed to do business urgently to avoid potential points sanctions.
What deals were made?
Villa and Everton did business with each other, Lewis Dobbin moving to Villa Park It is Tim Iroegbunam joining the Toffees, each for reported fees of around £9 million.
Villa was also sold Omari Kellyman to Chelsea for £19 million, two years after signing him from Derby for £600,000. The midfielder made six appearances for Villa.
Meanwhile, Chelsea defender Ian Maatsen, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Borussia Dortmund, moved to Villa for £35m.
The transfer of players plus money from Douglas Luiz from Villa to Juventus was completed on Sunday for £42.35 million.
England winger Samuel Iling-Junior, 20, and Argentine midfielder Enzo Barrenechea, 23, headed in the opposite direction to around £18.5 million.
Leicester – already facing a charge for an alleged violation of the PSR – were placed under a transfer embargo by the English Football League (EFL) in March, but this ended when they became a Premier League club following the top flight’s annual general meeting (AGM) this month.
Chelsea have agreed a £30m deal for Kiernan Dewsbury Hallwith the midfielder being Leicester’s biggest salable asset, as he came through the club’s academy and will generate pure profit.
The Blues sold the 20-year-old striker Omari Hutchinson to newly promoted Ipswich Town for £20 million.
Newcastle were also busy, selling the winger Yankuba Minteh to Brighton for £30 million and midfielder Elliot Anderson to Nottingham Forest for £35 million, signing defender Lewis Hall from Chelsea for £28 million.
Why was June 30th so important?
Sunday marked the end of the financial year in the Premier League, meaning clubs need to ensure they are compliant with the PSR when submitting their accounts.
Clubs cannot lose more than £105 million in a three-year period – and even less if they spent part of that period in the Championship.
Transactions cannot be processed on June 30th itself, as it is not a business day, so some transfers were only confirmed and registered on Monday.
It is believed that a number of clubs have needed to sell, and last weekend around £75m worth of deals were agreed, which highlighted the need to negotiate as £100m was spent on the Premier League in the the entire month of January 2024.
The sale of academy players generates 100% profit for clubs to deposit into their accounts, while the amount paid by the purchasing club is distributed – using an accounting practice called amortization – over the duration of the contract.
Therefore, if two clubs agree to sell players to each other, especially academy players, it provides a significant financial boost.
Why are some businesses highlighted?
The First League wrote to all the clubs after “a significant number requested clarification” following recent swap agreements.
Some clubs are concerned that rivals may want to sell players to each other in order to exploit any gaps in the PSR and thus limit their losses.
There is no suggestion that the clubs broke the rules, but the league’s director of governance told them that part of the transfer fee would have to be returned by the selling club if it decided the fee was “inflated”.
