January 2023 net spend: how does this transfer window compare to previous years for Premier League clubs?

The January transfer window has closed and Premier League clubs have splashed out a staggering £780.1 million on new recruits.

A total of 52 permanent signings arrived in the Premier League during the winter window, including record breaking signing Enzo Fernandez for a total of £106.8 million. Fernandez arrived from Benfica on deadline day as the most expensive player in Premier League history, eclipsing the record previously set by Jack Grealish in 2021.

The Premier League remains the highest spending league in the whole of Europe but how does this Janauary’s transfer window compare to previous years in terms of net spend? Here is everything you need to know.

January 2023 transfer window net spend

Premier League clubs spent a combined £780.1 million on new recruits during the January transfer window, in a bid to strengthen their squad for the second half of the season.

The most high profile deals included Chelsea’s signing of World Cup winning midfielder Enzo Fernandez for £106.8 million and the addition of Ukrainian prodigy Mykhailo Mudryk for an initial £62 million.

In comparison top-flight teams accrued a figure of around £105.3 million on player sales during the window. This means that Premier League clubs have a total net spend of £675 million.

How does this January transfer window compare to previous seasons?

The total expenditure of this year’s transfer window has more than doubled last winter’s net spend of £163.2 million pounds. The 2023 January transfer window is the highest recorded net spend for a winter transfer window in the 31 year history of the Premier League.

Over the last six years Premier League clubs have typically spent more on incomings than outgoings. The last time the Premier League clubs made profit was January 2017 with a total of £32 million being accrued from player sales. Here is the Premier League net spend for the last five winter transfer windows:

January 2023

January 2022

January 2021

January 2020

January 2019

Which Premier League club has the highest net spend?

Chelsea were the biggest spenders in this year’s January window and they spent a total of £323 million on new signings.

The Blues have the highest net spend of any club in the last five years with £654.2 million. The likes of Maurizo Sarri, Frank Lampard, Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter have all invested heavily on new signings in the transfer window in recent seasons.

Manchester United have the second highest net spend of any Premier League team with a total of £540.23 million. The Red Devils have brought in a number of big name players including Antony, Jadon Sancho and Harry Maguire in a bid to reclaim their place at the top of the Premier League table.

Arsenal are the third highest spenders in the last five years. The Gunners have spent a total net spend of £485.64 on new signings - the biggest of which was the £72 million pound signing of Nicolas Pepe in 2019.

At the other end of the table Brentford remain one of the most frugal clubs in the league over the last five years with a net spend of £0.78 million. The Bees have performed exceptionally well in recent years and have established themselves as a Premier League club after their promotion in 2021.

Brighton have the second lowest net spend in the last five years with £43.27 million.