Another year, another transfer window that has seen fees on the rise. It’s becoming a more common occurrence for the Premier League transfer record to be broken and who knows the heights it could reach in the coming seasons as clubs can’t help but splash the cash.
In total, eight clubs have broken their record transfer fee this summer — including Arsenal (Declan Rice, £105), Aston Villa (Moussa Diaby, £51.9m), Brighton and Hove Albion (£30m, Joao Pedro) and Wolverhampton Wanderers (Matheus Cunha, £50m).
But it is big-spenders Chelsea who have pushed the boundaries once again, forking out a massive £115m for Moises Caicedo. It was a dramatic transfer saga, as Liverpool looked set to be the ones to break the record after agreeing a £110m fee, only for the player to decide he’d rather move to Stamford Bridge.
It takes Chelsea’s spending under owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital to over £900m in one year and fans of the West London club will be hoping that they finally start to see the benefits and become more favourable in the English Premier League betting.
For now, though, let’s take a look at some of the players Caicedo has surpassed to become the most expensive player in Premier League history.
Enzo Fernandez – £106.5m
Of course, Caicedo’s move to Stamford Bridge isn’t the first time Chelsea have broken the top flight’s transfer record — and it likely won’t be the last. In fact, this is the second time under their new owners that the Blues have exceeded the previous biggest spend, bringing in Enzo Fernandez for £106.5m from Benfica back in January.
The World Cup winner had some flash-in-the-pan moments in his first six months at Chelsea but certainly didn’t set the Premier League alight. There’s hope that he can kick on under Mauricio Pochettino and his performance against Liverpool on the opening weekend of the season will have fans very excited. His midfielder partnership with Caicedo could prove a force to be reckoned with.
Declan Rice – £105m
A move that was inevitably going to happen and likely always in excess of £100m, Declan Rice finally got his big move away from the London Stadium earlier this summer — signing for Arsenal for a club-record fee of £105m. The Gunners fended off Manchester City for the signature of the long-time Chelsea target.
After leading for the majority of the campaign, Mikel Arteta’s men narrowly missed out on the title last season. The Spaniard is clearly keen to ensure Arsenal keep the pressure on Man City and the arrival of Rice, along with Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber, will make them more backable in the favourite to win Premier League market.
Jack Grealish – £100m
The first £100m man, Jack Grealish made history when he moved from his boyhood club Aston Villa to Man City in 2021. He didn’t exactly hit the ground running at the Etihad Stadium, however, largely struggling in his first season in Sky Blue with just three goals and three assists.
His figures weren’t substantially better last term, but five goals and seven assists in 28 Premier League appearances was certainly a solid improvement and he was still a very important player in Man City’s treble-winning campaign.
Manchester United feature four times in the Premier League’s top 10 most-expensive player list. Former record transfer Paul Pogba (£89m), Antony (£86m), Harry Maguire (£80m) and Romelu Lukaku (£75m) represent a huge outlay with not much return for the Red Devils.
Mykhailo Mudryk (£89m) and Lukaku’s (£97m) moves to Chelsea mean the Blues make up half the list.
