Premier League teams have spent more than $2.5 billion on players in a record outlay during European soccer’s offseason transfer window, leaving rival leagues across the continent in their wake.
They’re far from finished.
Friday is deadline day in the transfer market and many of England’s top teams are still looking to do business to finalize the reshaping of their squads for the first half of the season.
That includes English champion Manchester City, which completed the signing of Portugal midfielder Matheus Nunes from Wolverhampton and also sold winger Cole Palmer to Chelsea.
Central midfielders are priorities for Liverpool and Manchester United, which is also looking for defensive reinforcements. Tottenham wants a striker.
Brighton, meanwhile, could complete one of the most exciting deals of the window as it negotiates to bring in 20-year-old Spain winger Ansu Fati from Barcelona.
Clubs are also eager to get rid of some fringe players to reduce the size of the squads, so expect outgoings at Chelsea and Tottenham in a rare season when they won’t be playing in Europe.
United signed goalkeeper Altay Bayindir from Fenerbahce to back up Andre Onana.
The window closes at 2200 GMT. Expect frantic dealings in the final few hours, especially.
Premier League clubs spent in excess of $2.2 billion in the 2022 transfer window in a show of financial strength fueled by income from huge global broadcasting deals worth about 10 billion pounds ($11.8 billion) over three seasons.
This year’s spree tops that and it has been fronted again by Chelsea, whose spending on players could surpass an unprecedented $500 million in a single window. The club spent a combined $630 million across the last two windows, which were the first under its new American ownership.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
