One of the craziest summer transfer windows in football history ended on August 31 with a few decisive deadline day signings. As usual, clubs in the Premier League have splashed out more money than any other league in the world. In this article, we will take a look at the top five Premier League clubs in terms of spendings in the summer of 2021.
#5 Aston Villa – £93M
Villa sold their captain and key playmaker, Jack Grealish, to Manchester City for a British record fee of £100.0M. They have utilized that amount smartly by purchasing three solid attacking options. Villa announced the signing of Emiliano Buendia on July 1 from Norwich City for a fee of £34.56M.
After the sale of Jack Grealish, Aston Villa signed Leon Bailey and Danny Ings on August 4. Axel Tuanzebe was signed on loan from Manchester United, and Ashley Young was acquired for free from Inter Milan. Aston Villa has one of the youngest squads in PL, with Ashley Young being the sole player above 30 years of age.
#4 Chelsea – £97.5M
After an earth-shattering transfer window in the summer of 2020, Chelsea was not expected to make a lot of signings this summer. Not surprisingly, Chelsea bought a world-class striker in the form of Lukaku to address their troubles in front of the goal.
Lukaku’s first stint at Chelsea is infamous for his struggles, but he is a completely different beast in 2021. Lukaku helped Inter Milan to win the Scudetto, and he has improved his passing and link-up play. He is expected to break Chelsea’s striker curse and fill the shoes of Didier Drogba.
#3 Manchester City – £100.0M
Despite breaking the British record transfer fee by acquiring Grealish, it must be said that Manchester City did not enjoy a wholly satisfactory window. They failed to land Harry Kane, which would have resulted in them topping the list of Premier League clubs in terms of spending this summer. In a bid to sign an experienced striker, City opened negotiations with Ronaldo in the final week of August.
However, the same fate awaited them as Ronaldo snubbed City and joined rivals Manchester United. Pep Guardiola is convinced that the squad at his disposal is good enough to defend the PL title. But this only rises more questions regarding their half-hearted attempt to sign Ronaldo.
#2 Manchester United – £133.7M
United finally got Jadon Sancho in 2021, a player they have chased for long without much success. They also surprisingly got him for just £76.50M, much lower than his market value in 2020. The signing of Raphael Varane provided much joy for United supporters as it addresses their long-standing issues at center-back.
The surprise signing of the summer is inarguably Cristiano Ronaldo. His announcement broke the internet, but his signing meant that United will go into the season without a top-class defensive midfielder.
#1 Arsenal – £156.8M
Topping the list of Premier League clubs in terms of spendings this summer is Arsenal. Arsenal’s signings this summer might not be world-class players, but they have been acquired with an eye on the future. Arsenal’s most expensive signing is Ben White for £52.65M from Brighton.
Arteta wanted a goalkeeper to compete with Leno and his wishes have been fulfilled with the signing of Ramsdale. Arsenal’s star signing is Martin Odegaard, who is set to be their chief playmaker. Albert Sambi Lokonga and Tomiyasu are not assured starters, but with age on their side, they are only going to improve their game in the upcoming seasons.
