The summer transfer window is now closed and all the business is done (at least in Europe).
Liverpool ended the window by completing their engine-room makeover with the signing of Ryan Gravenberch from Bayern Munich – the Reds’ fourth midfield arrival of the summer.
Between the deals for Alexis Mac Allister (£35m), Dominik Szoboszlai (£60m), Wataru Endo (£16m) and Gravenberch (£34m), Liverpool have spent around £145m on new signings, while recouping £52m from the sales of Fabinho and Jordan Henderson to the Saudi Pro League.
It gives the Reds a rough overall net spend of £93m – their highest under FSG since 2018/19 when the club used the money received from Philippe Coutinho’s January departure to fund deals for the likes of Fabinho and Alisson.
That summer proved a transformative one for Liverpool, while there has been much debate about whether the Reds have done enough this time around.
But how does Liverpool’s financial outlay this window compare with the rest of their rivals?
Premier League net spend table
Well, according to Sky Sports’ calculations, the Reds’ rank sixth overall in the Premier League for net spend for the summer 2023 window, behind Chelsea (obviously), Manchester United, Newcastle, Arsenal and (less obviously) Bournemouth.
With a net of £197.2m, biggest spenders Chelsea have splashed out a full £84.8m more than Liverpool this summer.
However, Sky’s figures should be taken with a pinch of salt as they refer to Mac Allister’s transfer as costing Liverpool £55m, and the reality is that the difference may be even greater.
- Chelsea (£197.2m)
- Man Utd (£135.5m)
- Newcastle (£130m)
- Arsenal (£129m)
- Bournemouth (£117m)
- Liverpool (£112.4m)
- Tottenham (£102.3m)
- Man City (£68.5m)
- Aston Villa (£65m)
- Brentford (£54m)
- Crystal Palace (£50m)
- Burnley (£46.6m)
- Nottingham Forest (£44.9m)
- Sheffield Utd (£34.2m)
- Fulham (£15.7m)
- Luton (£9.5m)
- Everton (-£21.1m)
- West Ham (-£21.1m)
- Wolves (-£80.7m)
- Brighton (-£114.6m)
In terms of pure outgoings on new transfers, Sky place Liverpool sixth in the table again, but only ninth for money received for player sales.
While the Reds underwent a much-publicised rebuild this summer, the club only received transfer fees for two (Henderson and Fabinho) of the six players who departed on permanent deals.
Though highly unlikely, Liverpool’s net spend could yet be altered in the coming days, with the Saudi Pro League window still open 7 September.
Rumours persist that Al Ittihad are prepared to bid £200m for Mohamed Salah – a figure only 45% of Anfield Watch followers said they would accept – though Jurgen Klopp has continued to shoot down the possibility of a deal happening.
