Big sides, fans are beneficiaries of EPL spending spree

News analysis

- James Walton

What happens when the English Premier League has six Champions League places, the majority of teams are not facing the challenges of profit and sustainability rules (PSR), and broadcasting and commercial deals are reaching new heights?

A summer transfer window the likes of which we have never seen before.

Premier League clubs spent a total of over £3 billion (S$5.17 billion) in a summer window that closed on Sept 1 with a flurry of activity that kept fans glued to their screens even beyond the deadline.

This smashed the previous window record of £2.36 billion in 2023, and saw Premier League clubs spend more than Germany's Bundesliga, Spain's La Liga, France's Ligue 1 and Italy's Serie A clubs combined.

There will be under-the-radar deals that have outsized impacts and big deals that flop, but as always, that does not stop us from hazarding a guess at the winners and losers of this mega window.

THE WINNERS

Premier League fans

They get to see more of Europe's most exciting talent, including Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Xavi Simons, Viktor Gyokeres, Benjamin Sesko, Randal Kolo Muani, Rayan Cherki, Nick Woltemade, Martin Zubimendi, Tijjani Reijnders and Jeremie Frimpong. Once again, the Premier League has strengthened its position as the league to watch.

Player power

Some go on strike (see Yoane Wissa, Alexander Isak and Gyokeres), others played nice and waited (Eberechi Eze, Alejandro Garnacho), but nearly always, the players hold the power to get the move that they want.

The strong get stronger