The top 10 biggest spending clubs in the 2022/23 Premier League’s £2.8billion transfer spree

I struggle to spend money, I mean really struggle. I'm yet to fully commit to overhauling my antique sock collection that these days is so threadbare it could pass for an eccentric collection of ankle-length tights, and I still religiously wear faded t-shirts of bands long relegated from festival headliners back to the bottom of the bill. Every takeaway consumed is met with a regretful shake of the head immediately upon completion, and there's no chance my recently perished Macbook Pro 2010 will be replaced before we reach the 2030s.

This yet to be fully addressed frugality complex (have you seen the price of therapy?) is not something I share with the top tier clubs of English football, it's fairly safe to say. This season, Premier League clubs have spent a combined total of £2.8 billion on new players - that's 233,333,333 packs of mid-range socks, by the way - which accounts for 78% of money spent across football's 'big five' leagues in Europe, as per Deloitte's recent findings.

After a raucous Deadline Day, the January transfer window is now behind us, and we've crunched the numbers to find the top ten biggest estimated spenders in the Premier League over both the 2022 summer and 2023 January transfer window:

10. Leeds United - £130m

Kicking us off is Leeds United, who Jagerbombed their way through the transfer market signing no fewer than four players from Red Bull franchise clubs. Georginio Rutter was their most expensive purchase, coming in at a club record breaking £35.5m. Elsewhere, there was a £29m swoop for RB Salzburg's Brenden Aaronson, who was joined at Elland Road by his former teammates Rasmus Kristensen and Maximilian Wober.

9. Manchester City - £134.4m

Due to a release clause in his contact, the Citizens scooped up goal-machine Erling Haaland for a mere £51m. Their spending didn't stop there, as they snapped up England international Kalvin Phillips for £42m from Leeds. As Man City spending totals go, this is more nipping to the corner shop for milk and bread, rather than their usual caviar and Champagne splurge in Fortnum and Mason.

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8. Wolverhampton Wanderers - £158.2m

Perched perilously just two points above the relegation zone, Wolves' big-spending approach looks like it could backfire. They broke their transfer record to sign Matheus Nunes from Sporting CP and also brought out the chequebook to seal deals for Goncalo Guedes, Joao Gomes and the slightly less alluringly named Nathan Collins, who just sounds like a mild-mannered music teacher on paper.

7. Tottenham Hotspur - £158.9m

Buoyed by a top four finish last season, Spurs went big in the 2022 summer transfer window, with the £60m Brazilian World Cup star Richarlison the pick of their signings. Other highlights include £42m defender Cristian Romero and Yves Bissouma, who cost just £25m - that’s about a third of what his former Brighton team mate Moises Caicedo could have joined Arsenal for in January.

6. Nottingham Forest - £164.6m

Those Tricky Trees have signed 29 (yes, twenty-nine) new players this season. A whopping £42m of their money spent went on Morgan Gibbs-White from Wolves. The highlight of their 2022/23 business, though, has to iconic goalkeeper Keylor Navas, who joined the club in a sensational deadline day loan deal from Paris Saint-Germain.

5. Newcastle United - £165.5m

The Magpies, in their first full season under their new mega-rich owners, haven't simply smashed their way to the top of the spending charts as many predicted. That said, they've still made it rain with abandon, snapping up a host of quality acquisitions. £63m club record signing Alexander Isak was the biggest outlay, while January recruit Anthony Gordon from Everton set the Magpies back £45m. Just think of all the doomed high street retailers Mike Ashley could have bought with that money!

4. Arsenal - £171.8m

Living testament to giving managers time to get their feet under the table, Mikel Arteta has been backed by the Gunners board and it's paid dividends on the field this season, with his side surging to the top of the Premier League table. Arsenal have spent big, but pretty damn smartly too, addressing their squad weaknesses with inspired signings including £45m striker Gabriel Jesus and £32m Oleksandr Zinchenko both from Man City - way to hand your divisional rivals the league title, guys.

3. West Ham United - £173.3m

West Ham may be flirting perilously with relegation, but they've made the top three in the spending list for 2022/23! Admittedly, this is unlikely to offer much solace to David Moyes and co. Just how did they do it? Signing ten new players probably helped. £51m Brazil international Lucas Paqueta bumped up their total considerably, along with pricey pair Gianluca Scamacca and Nayef Aguerd.

2. Manchester United - £217.3m

New manager Erik ten Hag did the bulk of his business last summer, bringing in a number three recruits from the Dutch Eredivisie where he was previously in charge of Ajax. Winger Antony and Real Madrid midfield general Casemiro were among the Red Devils' most costly purchases, while Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen arrived on a bargain free transfer.

1. Chelsea - £546.1m

After an astonishing January spending spree that would see most subject to an intervention and dispatched to an Oniomaniacs Anonymous meeting, Todd Boehly’s Blues pushed their season total spend past the half a billion mark. To put that in context, that'll buy you about half a dozen generously sized private islands. Enzo Fernandez broke the British transfer record with his £106m move, while the likes of Mykhailo Mudryk, Wesley Fofana and Marc Cucurella all came in over the £60m mark.