Summer transfer window worth £500m

English football clubs have set a record this summer buying new players, with around stg£500m, according to a report from consultancy firm Deloitte.

Last-minute deals in the summer transfer window, including Dimitar Berbatov’s signing to Manchester United from Tottenham Hotspur for £30.75m and Robinho’s move to rival Manchester City from Real Madrid for around £32.5m, pushed up the total to around £500m from some £470m in 2007.

Another of the big summer spends was the transfer of Irish skipper Robbie Keane from Spurs to Liverpool for £20.3m.

Paul Rawnsley, director of the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, commented: “Last summer saw a record level of transfer spending that was fuelled by the new TV monies and new owners. This trend has continued with this summer’s transfer spending £30m higher at £500m.”

Each of Roy Keane’s Sunderland, Aston Villa, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur has reportedly spent more than £30m on player acquisitions in the summer transfer window.

Premier League clubs have spent around £215m on players from other Premier League clubs.

This intra-Premier League spending represents over 40% of the total committed transfer activity by the top clubs.

Football League clubs spent over £25m in summer 2008, including around £20m on players from other Football League clubs.

Net amounts received from Premier League and overseas clubs, the Football League clubs benefit from a net inflow of around £40m this summer.

Premier League clubs’ transfer fee spending in the summer window has again far exceeded that in other European leagues. Spending was around double that of the clubs in Italian Serie A and Spanish Primera Liga.

Article courtesy of the Evening Echo newspaper.