Premier League clubs spend £405m in winter transfer window 2026

Premier League clubs spent £405 million on new signings during the 2026 winter transfer window.

It was another window for English clubs to flex their financial superiority as Premier League teams spent more than the rest of Europe’s top five leagues combined (£378.3m).

It also amounted to the third-highest winter outlay on Premier League transfers after 2018’s record of £430m and 2018’s total of a whopping £815m.

There was significantly less deadline-day drama this time around, with fewer clubs indulging in the usual frantic last-minute transfer saga.

Most teams decided to do the heavy lifting earlier in the window, yet their expenditure still added up to one of the most expensive winter markets in Premier League history.

Premier League clubs also recouped £273.1m through player sales during the winter transfer window, equating to a net spend of around £131m.

Who spent the most?

Interestingly, last season’s FA Cup finalists, Manchester City and Crystal Palace, were involved in the bulk of the winter transfer deals.

Last month, Pep Guardiola made it clear that he was “not a big, big, big, big fan” of the winter market.

But that didn’t stop the City manager from spending a whopping £84m on two headline deals, bringing in Antoine Semenyo from Bournemouth and Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace.

The 10-time Premier League champions forked out £64m to lure Semenyo away from the Vitality Stadium in what was the most expensive transfer of the window.

They also spent £20m to sign Guehi, whose contract was due to expire at the end of the season.

The Eagles had previously rebuffed bids north of £70m for their former captain, but City capitalised on their desperation to bring in the England international in a bargain deal.

Palace went toe to toe with City for the most money spent in the winter transfer window, splashing a whopping £83m to sign Jorgen Strand Larsen and Brennan Johnson.

The Eagles broke their transfer record twice in the winter market.

They first paid £35m to sign Johnson from Tottenham Hotspur before reinvesting the proceeds from Guehi’s exit in bringing in Strand Larsen from Wolverhampton Wanderers in a stunning £48m deal.

Palace wrapped up the move for Strand Larsen on deadline day, making him the window’s second most expensive transfer after Semenyo and bumping Johnson down to third.

Liverpool also agreed a £60m deal for Stade Rennais centre-back Jeremy Jacquet, beating Chelsea to the highly rated French centre-back.

However, Rennes were unwilling to part ways with the player mid-season, meaning his move to Anfield will be made official in the summer.

Meanwhile, City and Palace will hope their investments take them one step closer to realising their ambitions.

Guardiola’s side are going head-to-head with Arsenal in search of a seventh league title in 11 years, while Palace are looking to get their campaign back on track after falling off the wagon in recent months.

The rest of the pack

City and Palace may have headlined the transfer window, but there was plenty of action elsewhere.

London duo West Ham United and Tottenham were next in line after spending a combined £97m.

West Ham’s outlay of £50m was the most they’ve ever spent in a winter window after signing Valentin Castellanos from Lazio, Pablo from Gil Vincente, and Adama Traore from capital rivals Fulham.

The Hammers also signed Axel Disasi from Chelsea and Keiber Lamadrid from Deportivo La Guaira on loan.

However, their expenditure was covered by the sale of Lucas Paqueta and Luis Guilheme to Flamengo and Sporting CP, respectively.

Meanwhile, Tottenham spent £47m to bring in Conor Gallagher from Atletico Madrid and Brazilian left-back Souza from Santos.

Many clubs chose to sit the window out altogether, content with squads built during the summer, when Premier League teams had already shattered records with a combined spend of more than £3 billion.

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