Calum Ross, assistant director in Deloitte's Sports Business Group, told Planet Sport: "Record transfer spend in January, surpassing the previous record of ÂŁ430m in January 2018. "(In terms of) a seasonal spend in 2022-23, Premier League clubs are now over ÂŁ2.5billion which highlights the level of capability of spend that they've got in the market at the moment." Premier League clubs also set a record for net transfer expenditure during a January window with a net spend of ÂŁ720m, eclipsing the previous record set in January 2022 (ÂŁ180m).
The Old Trafford club announced on Tuesday lunchtime that key midfielder Christian Eriksen would be out for three months with an ankle injury. United have moved on deadline day to bolster Erik ten Hag's options, with Austria international Sabitzer's move confirmed over an hour after the 11pm deadline.
The Fernandez deal took Chelsea's spending since last summer past the ÂŁ550m barrier and broke the previous British transfer record, set by Manchester City following the signing of Jack Grealish for ÂŁ100m in August 2021. It represents a massive return on investment for Benfica, who had only just signed the player in August 2022 for a fee reported to be around ÂŁ8m. In announcing the deal, Benfica kept it very businesslike and strangely didn't include a farewell for the player.