England spends as Italy feels the pinch

At first sight, this winter’s transfer window was spectacularly boring, unless you happen to support Manchester United, Chelsea or possibly Newcastle; but appearances can be deceptive.

As you would expect, the Premier League once again leads the way in money terms, with almost €155m paid out for players, a couple of million more than Spain, Italy, France and Germany combined. Championship clubs signed more players than any other league in Europe.

The most expensive transfers in Europe also all involved English clubs. The only exception was the €15m spent by Inter to secure Brazilian midfielder Anderson Hernanes from Lazio, which also set a record for the number of tears shed by a departing player on a YouTube video.