The summer transfer window is now over, so HITC Sport look at the most expensive deals the seven London Premier League sides agreed – including Wesley Fofana and Richarlison.
Top-flight clubs spent a record £2.14bn over the course of the summer sales to shatter the previous high of £1.49bn set in 2017. It was also an increase of more than 100% on 2021’s total £1.04bn outlay, with Chelsea the top spenders as Thomas Tuchel fluttered £278.4m.
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Chelsea’s spending set a new single-team record, having eclipsed their own high of £222m under Frank Lampard from 2020. In contrast, London rivals Crystal Palace were among the lowest spenders, with boss Patrick Vieira signing off £32m – the third-lowest in the league.
Only Leicester City (£15m) and AFC Bournemouth (£26m) spent less than Crystal Palace for their summer transfers. Whilst fellow London natives West Ham United fluttered £179.2m, Tottenham Hotspur paid £172m, Arsenal £121.5m, Fulham £62.2m and Brentford £54.7m.
Chelsea’s move to sign Fofana from Leicester and deal to buy Marc Cucurella off Brighton & Hove Albion both eclipsed the total outlay of Brentford and Crystal Palace. Tottenham’s swoop on Everton for Richarlison also eclipses the total spending by the two London rivals.
So, with that in mind, who were the most expensive signings from all seven of the London-based Premier League clubs during the 2022 summer sales now all deals have been done?
Gabriel Jesus the most expensive deal at Arsenal in 2022 summer sales
Gabriel Jesus ended the summer 2022 sales as the most expensive deal Arsenal agreed, as the north London natives paid Manchester City £45m to sign a centre-forward tasked with replacing Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang following their departures.
Mikel Arteta also signed off a £34m deal with FC Porto to add Portuguese playmaker Fabio Vieira. While the Gunners returned to the Etihad Stadium to get a £32m deal for Oleksandr Zinchenko to north London, making him the Premier League outfit’s third-most expensive.
Keane Lewis-Potter made Premier League move as Brentford’s most expensive deal
Keane Lewis-Potter made his way to the Premier League and west London as Brentford got a £20m deal with Hull City. The Bees paid his Championship side an initial £16m, with add-ons during a six-year contract taking the transfer to a club-record for Thomas Frank’s club.
Brentford also struck their most expensive initial deal for Aaron Hickey at £19m, ahead of a move for Mikkel Damsgaard at £12m. Frank raided Bologna to sign the Scotland full-back and Sampdoria for the playmaker, as the Bees looked to Serie A to strengthen their squad.
Wesley Fofana among most expensive Premier League deals with London move
Wesley Fofana would sit among the most expensive deals in the Premier League when the window slammed shut following his move from the East Midlands to west London. Chelsea paid Leicester City an initial £70m for the centre-half, with add-ons taking the fee to £75m.
Only Manchester United agreed a more expensive deal in the Premier League with a £82m move for Ajax ace Antony. While Chelsea also featured highly with their deals for Brighton & Hove Albion’s Marc Cucurella at £62m and Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling at £50m.
Cheick Doucoure topped Crystal Palace spending with RC Lens departure
Cheick Doucoure topped Crystal Palace’s spending this summer with his departure from RC Lens at £21m. The Eagles paid an initial £18m for the Mali international, rising £3m in add-ons, following deals for Derby County’s Malcolm Ebiowei and West Brom’s Sam Johnstone.
Patrick Vieira also signed Chris Richards from Bayern Munich at £11m, with an initial fee of £8.5m. The defender moved to Selhurst Park on a five-year contract, having fallen down in Der FCB’s pecking order following the Bundesliga side signing Matthijs de Ligt off Juventus.
Joao Palhinha most expensive Fulham deal with west London arrival
Joao Palhinha ended the sales as the most expensive deal at Fulham with his west London arrival from Sporting Lisbon at £20m. Marco Silva swooped the Portuguese top-flight for a transfer, as he strived to strengthen at Craven Cottage after they won the Championship.
The Cottagers also added Issa Diop from West Ham United at £15m, plus Andreas Pereira from Manchester United at £10m. Silva will hope his work in the market can now keep his Fulham side in the Premier League, having seen the club suffer relegation in 2019 and ‘21.
Richarlison topped Tottenham Hotspur spending in Premier League deal
Richarlison topped the spending at Tottenham Hotspur this summer with a £60m deal with Everton. Spurs paid their Premier League rival an initial £50m, rising £10m with add-ons, to sign the Brazil international this July and reinforce Antonio Conte’s attack in north London.
Tottenham also paid Atalanta £42.5m to retain Cristian Romero after he initially joined the club on loan last summer. Conte had to wait until August 30 to secure the Argentine’s deal, whilst also paying Brighton & Hove Albion £25m, worth up to £35m, to sign Yves Bissouma.
West Ham set new club-record in deal to bring Lucas Paqueta to Premier League
West Ham United set their new club-record transfer in a deal to bring Lucas Paqueta to the Premier League and east London from Lyon at £51m. The move eclipsed the £45m that the Hammers paid Eintracht Frankfurt to buy Sebastien Haller under Manuel Pellegrini in 2019.
David Moyes let Haller leave the London Stadium to join Ajax in January 2021 at just £20m, and has finally replaced the Ivory Coast international. West Ham sealed what was then the club’s most expensive deal this summer to sign Gianluca Scamacca of Sassuolo at £35.5m.
The east London outfit also paid Stade Rennais £30m to bring Nayef Aguerd to the Premier League on a five-year deal. The fee includes potential add-ons West Ham could pay for the Morocco international, who was forced to undergo surgery for his ankle injury during July.
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