Premier League clubs enjoying ‘pause and reset’ after record windows – Deloitte

Premier League spending was dramatically down compared to last January (Mike Egerton/PA)

A quiet January transfer window in the Premier League is a short-term blip rather than the start of a new trend, according to leading finance company Deloitte.

English top-flight clubs spent just £100million, down from a staggering £815m last January and an average of just over £319m since the 2016-17 season, when the value of domestic television rights first jumped past £5billion for a three-year cycle.

The threat of sanctions under the league’s profit and sustainability rules, with Everton already docked 10 points this season, has been cited as a potential reason – though spending over the full season still hit £2.4bn, second only to last season’s £2.7bn.

January spending dropped dramatically (PA graphic)

Calum Ross, assistant director in Deloitte’s Sports Business Group, told the PA news agency: “I think compliance with financial regulations is a key part of it.

“We’ve obviously seen the Premier League’s response to breaches of their regulations, which is heightening clubs’ awareness to comply, and it’s the first year of UEFA’s new squad cost rules for clubs participating in UEFA competitions.

“We’re seeing a lot more planning going into the window and different types of deals – loans with options and obligations to buy that is playing with the financial year they’re recognising those fees within.

“There’s other reasons as well. In the summer we saw transfers like (Jude) Bellingham, (Declan) Rice, (Harry) Kane, which then create that domino effect across the market.

“We’ve come off the back of three consecutive record-breaking windows so we’re probably seeing a moment to pause and reset – the fact they’ve done a lot of that