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Premiership clubs tighten their belts as transfer fees nose dive

AUSTERITY was the word for the region’s financial firms yesterday after a record low spending Premiership transfer window saw very few clubs dig deep into their dwindling pockets.

Player transfer spending by Premier League clubs was around £350m in the summer transfer window, according to analysis by the business advisory organisation Deloitte.

Dan Jones, partner in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, said: “Premier League clubs’ spending in this transfer window has been restrained at around £350m, after three years in which the clubs had spent £450-500m each summer.

“In general, an absence of new owners and clubs striving to improve their financial balance has diminished the vibrancy of the transfer market.”

Reflecting on the level of net spending, being the net amount that flows from Premier League clubs to non-English clubs and Football League clubs, Jones added: “Whilst the headline figure for player transfer spending is 22% down, the level of net spending by Premier League clubs of £190m is actually more than double that in summer 2009 and similar to the levels in each of 2008 and 2007.

“Last year’s net transfer spending of £80m was lower in particular due to Premier League clubs in receipt of £110m in transfer fees from Real Madrid alone.”

Meanwhile, Joe McLean, partner at Grant Thornton in the North East said English said clubs will continue to spend low as long as they operate in a state of financial uncertainty.

He said: “With the exception of Manchester City, no-one is really spending.

“City’s expenditure has been with overseas clubs and so there has been no trickle-down effect for other English based clubs. We have seen more high profile free transfers, for example the moves of Joe Cole and William Gallas as we see clubs looking for ways of reducing or restructuring their wage bills.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .