10 Premier League teams with the highest net spend in the last 5 years
The Premier League is the richest football league in the world, and arguably the most competitive one too.
Thanks to rich club owners and lucrative television deals, Premier League teams attract some of the top talents in the game and pay them handsomely. To put things in perspective, the combined value of the 22 teams in the inaugural Premier League season in 1992-93 was £50 million. Almost three decades later, that value has swollen by more than twenty times, albeit with two fewer teams.
Perhaps it's unsurprising that Premier League clubs have been some of the top spenders in the COVID-19 era. Even in the recently concluded transfer window, four of the top ten spenders were from the Premier League.
On that note, here's a look at the ten top net spenders in the competition in the last five years, as per transfermarkt:
NOTE: The net spend of a club is the difference between the total spend of the club (for new signings and loan arrivals) and the amount recouped by selling players.
#10 Wolverhampton Wanderers - £181 million
It might be surprising to note that Wolverhampton Wanderers have been one of the top Premier League spenders in the last five years. That's because they spent one of the last four seasons in the Championship.
After three indifferent seasons in the second division, Wolves made a flurry of new signings, including Ruben Neves, in the summer of 2017. The results were immediate as Wolves won the Championship to return to the Premier League in 2018.
Wolves then set about replenishing their roster for an extended stay in the top flight. Joao Moutinho, Adama Traore and Diogo Jota were among the many players who were brought in during the 2018 summer. The moves yielded the desired result as Wolves produced successive seventh-place finishes.
Despite their big spending over the years, Wolves have also balanced their books well. They recently sold the likes of Jota, Rui Patricio and Matt Doherty, among others, to neutralize their expenditure on new players.
#9 Brighton & Hove Albion - £188 million
Brighton & Hove Albion have a net spend of close to £200 million in the last five years. Yet they have often languished in the bottom half of the league table.
Over the last five years, Brighton have brought in the likes of Yves Bissouma, Bernardo, Leandro Trossard and Marc Cucurella, among others. But their fortunes haven't changed, as the Seagulls have flirted with relegation in their last four Premier League seasons.
This year, they shipped out young centre-back Ben White to Arsenal for £52.6 million. In exchange, Graham Potter's side brought in the likes of Enock Mwepu and Cucurella.
But with no quality replenishment in their rearguard, Brighton could struggle yet again in the Premier League.
#8 Aston Villa - £194 million
Much like Brighton, Aston Villa have had a net spend of almost £200 million. But they have spent two of their last four seasons in the Championship.
Villa were promoted to the Premier League in 2019-20, and immediately set about replenishing their roster. They brought in the likes of Wesley, Tyrone Mings, Douglas Luiz and Pepe Reina, among others. But Villa only managed to avoid relegation by the skin of their teeth, finishing 17th.
Determined to extend their stay in the Premier League, Villa splurged money in the transfer market once again in 2020. They signed a plethora of top players, including Ollie Watkins, Bertrand Traore and Emiliano Martinez. The result was an improvement from their previous campaign as they narrowly failed to finish in the top half.
Villa have spent big this summer as well, bringing in Emiliano Buendia, Leon Bailey and Danny Ings. They have let go of Jack Grealish for a whopping £105.8 million, but seem to have used that sum wisely.
After three games this season, Villa are 11th in the league table.
#7 West Ham United - £197 million
West Ham have largely been a mid-table club in the nine consecutive seasons they have been in the Premier League.
The Hammers, though, enjoyed one of their best-ever Premier League campaigns last season, finishing sixth. Resultantly, they qualified for Europe ahead of giants Arsenal. West Ham have brought in Kurt Zouma and Nikola Vlasic for almost £60 million to help them compete in multiple competitions this season.
Ahead of the 2019-20 campaign, West Ham signed the likes of Said Benrahma and Thomas Soucek. But they could only narrowly manage to avoid relegation. A year earlier, they had spent over £100 million, bringing in the likes of Sebastian Haller (on a club-record fee) and Pablo Fornals, among others.
In the last five years, they have also signed the likes of Felipe Anderson, Andriy Yarmolenko and Lukasz Fabianski. But the results haven't always been what they expected.