Premier League clubs break transfer spend records

The transfer window for English clubs slammed shut yesterday after another record year of spending.

Premier League clubs spent a huge £835 million on new players during the summer transfer window, eclipsing the £630 million spent a year earlier. Analysis from Deloitte shows that when the deadline passed at 23:00 BST on Monday (September 1st), top flight clubs had paid out £530 million to teams overseas, £240 million to Premier League clubs and £65 million to Football League clubs.

The big news to come out of the final day of the transfer window was Manchester United's purchase of Colombian star Radamel Falcao from Monaco on a year-long loan. Striker Danny Welbeck headed out of Old Trafford to join Arsenal for £16 million while Hull City were the busiest buying Abel Hernandez, Hatem Ben Arfa, Gaston Ramirez and Mohamed Diame.

United had already broken the British transfer record last week when they purchased winger Angel Di Maria from Real Madrid in a deal worth £59.7 million.

The £150 million paid by United represents the highest ever gross spend by a Premier League. It is the hope that the new arrivals can propel them back into the Champions League after failing to qualify for the tournament last season.

Dan Jones, partner at Deloitte's Sport Business Group, told the BBC: "In a summer where the world's best players were on show at the World Cup we have again seen how Premier League clubs are able to successfully compete on a global stage in terms of attracting talent."

UEFA's introduction of Financial Fair Play (FFP) has meant that some club have altered the way they have done business. Despite the new regulations, top clubs such as Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester City have all spent big bringing in high profile names such as James Rodriguez, Luis Suarez and Toni Kroos.

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