5 records that could be broken in this transfer window
Back in 2002, Real Madrid signed a 25-year-old Brazilian forward by the name Ronaldo Nazario from Inter Milan for €46m. Oh, and that Brazilian had just won the Golden Boot at the FIFA World Cup which his country had won.
A decade and a half later, Real Madrid have signed another Brazilian forward, Vinicius Junior, for the exact same amount - €46m. However, this Brazilian is just 16-years-old and is yet to represent Brazil beyond the Under-17 level.
Welcome ladies and gentlemen, to the inflated transfer market.
With the amount of money flowing into football clubs from several avenues including rich owners, the inflation in transfer values was expected but last season, one particular transfer was a game changer. The world record transfer of Paul Pogba to Manchester United which fetched £89m has changed the dynamics of the football transfer market.
For example, Everton signed an uncapped Jordan Pickford for £30m this summer. That's more than the combined transfer fees of Keylor Navas, Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Jan Oblak - the goalkeepers of La Liga's top three teams.
When you look at the scenario, it is fair to guess that the transfer records of yesteryear are about to be annihilated. So here are five transfer records that are likely to be broken this summer.
#1 Most money spent by a team in one transfer window
This record is likely to be broken by a Premier League club unless Real Madrid do what they do best. Nevertheless, I expect the record to be broken.
If reports are anything to go by then some of the Premier League giants are expected to spend in excess of £200m this summer. The spending spree has already started with Manchester City signing Bernardo Silva & Ederson, Manchester United signing Victor Lindelof, Liverpool signing Mohamed Salah and even Everton spending just over £85m already!
Lest we forget, the transfer window officially opened only on July 1, so there's a lot of business left to be done.
The current record for most money spent in one transfer window goes to Real Madrid who spent £195m in 2009. There were four big arrivals that summer - Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United for £80, Kaka from AC Milan £56m, Karim Benzema from Olympique Lyon for £30m and Xabi Alonso from Liverpool for £30m.
This summer, I expect at least one of Chelsea, Liverpool or the Manchester clubs to break the record.