Sunderland have spent big in the 2025 summer transfer window and are already one of the highest-spending promoted clubs in Premier League history.
With the huge sums of money that have been injected into the Premier League over the last decade, the majority of EFL clubs have struggled to keep up.
Even when newly promoted clubs spend big in the transfer market, it’s no guarantee that they will be able to survive in the top flight.
With Leeds, Burnley and Sunderland now aiming for Premier League survival in 2025-26, we’ve assessed the eight highest-spending newly promoted sides and have noted where they finished.
9. Burnley (2023-24) £95.9million
After romping the Championship under Vincent Kompany and accumulating 101 points, Burnley looked like they were ready to take the Premier League by storm in 2023-24.
Kompany was heavily backed in the transfer market, with just shy of £100million being spent in the summer and January windows.
Notable transfers included the likes of James Trafford, Aaron Ramsey, Sander Berge, Wilson Odobert and Zeki Amdouni, but Kompany struggled to build a coherent side.
Despite their eye-catching transfer window, Burnley were relegated in 19th place, with a mere 24 points to their name. Scott Parker will hope the club are more up for the fight this time around.
8. Sunderland (2025-26) £99.8million*
As of writing, Sundelrand have already spent just shy of £99.8million to get their squad up to Premier League standard.
In fairness, their net spend is substantially lower than that figure, having sold both Jobe Bellingham and Tommy Watson for sizeable profits.
Establishing yourself as a Premier League club seems like an almost impossible task these days, but Sunderland have had an impressive window so far.
With the additions of Enzo Le Fee, Simon Adingra, Habib Diarra, Chemsdine Talbi and Noah Sadiki, they will cause teams problems next season.
7. Fulham (2018-19) £100.6million
Fulham were promoted via the playoffs in 2017-18 and the club backed Slavisa Jokanovic with several new signings in 2018-19.
The likes of Jean Michael Seri, Aleksandar Mitrovic, Alfie Mawson, Joe Bryan and Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa all joined the club that summer, but still couldn’t keep them afloat.
After accumulating just 26 points, they were ultimately relegated in 19th place.
Since then, Fulham have been promoted twice from the Championship and established themselves as a Premier League club.
6. Wolves (2018-19) – £101.4million
In truth, the squad that Wolves had in 2017-18 while playing in the Championship was already Premier League standard.
Upon promotion, they spent another £101.4million and, under the guidance of Nuno Espirito Santo, finished seventh in the Premier League.
They’ve now been in the top flight for eight consecutive years, although they have been on a gradual decline since 2022-23.
5. Southampton (2024-25) £105.4million
Despite spending over £100million, Southampton looked far below the standard last season.
Russell Martin’s side spent big on the likes of Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Flynn Downes, Cameron Archer, Aaron Ramsdale and Matheus Fernandes, but only accumulated 12 points.
For large parts of the campaign, there was genuine concern that they’d go down as the worst side in Premier League history.
Thankfully for Southampton, they managed to finish one point above Derby’s record low tally of 11 points. All in all, it was a season to forget for the Saints.
4. Leeds United (2020-21) – £109.6million
The last time Leeds gained promotion to the Premier League, they spent well on the likes of Raphinha, Crysencio Summerville and Rodrigo Moreno.
Under the guidance of Marcelo Bielsa, Leeds finished ninth in the Premier League, a whopping 31 points above the relegation zone.
They managed to last three years in the top flight before being relegated in 2022-23. Now back in the big time, Daniel Farke will be hoping to establish Leeds as a Premier League outfit once more.
3. Ipswich Town (2024-25) £131.7million
Having won consecutive promotions from League One and the Championship, Ipswich had to spend big in 2024.
On paper, they made some decent acquisitions, but ultimately, the jump in quality was too much for Kieran McKenna’s side.
In total, Ipswich signed 16 players last season, but only accumulated 19 points and finished 19th.
2. Aston Villa (2019-20) £138million
After winning promotion via the playoffs, Aston Villa didn’t hold back in the transfer market upon promotion.
Marquee signings from 2019-20 included the likes of Wesley, Anwar El Ghazi, Tyrone Mings, Trezeguet and Douglas Luiz.
While not all of their signings clicked, they did manage to avoid the drop by the skin of their teeth.
Dean Smith’s side finished one point ahead of Bournemouth and avoided the drop on the final day of the season. Since then, it’s safe to say that they’ve done alright.
1. Nottingham Forest (2022-23) £170million
Nottingham Forest completely overhauled their squad in 2022-23, spending around £170million as per Transfermarkt figures.
As their squad was heavily reliant on loanees during their promotion season from the Championship, Forest knew that they had a daunting task ahead of them in 2022-23.
While not all of their signings were successful, they did manage to beat the drop in 2022-23, finishing four points above the relegation zone.
After a couple of seasons battling relegation, they surged up the table last year and qualified for the UEFA Conference League.
READ NEXT: 10 Championship players ready for a Premier League move ft. Man Utd & Everton targets
TRY A QUIZ: Can you name every team to win promotion to the Premier League?