Matt Scrafton's verdict on Burnley's 3-2 defeat to West Ham
A look at Burnley's net spend compared to their Premier League rivals as the January transfer window approaches.
Burnley head into the final international break of 2025 off the back of two consecutive defeats, but there’s still plenty of optimism around their survival hopes.
The Clarets have taken 10 points from 11 games so far, with wins against Leeds and Wolves prior to the recent defeats against Arsenal and West Ham giving them a major boost. The solid start from Scott Parker’s men has no doubt been influenced by a productive summer transfer window, in which Burnley parted with massive sums to sign the likes of Lesley Ugochukwu, Loum Tchaouna and Armando Broja.
Of course, their spending was offset somewhat by the sale of James Trafford to Manchester City. However, there was still plenty of cash flowing around Turf Moor. The January transfer window will be upon us in no time at all, but before the madness starts again, let’s take a look at how Burnley’s summer net spend compares to their Premier League rivals.
Premier League clubs ranked by summer net spend
Below are the Premier League teams ranked by their net spend in the most recent summer transfer window, according to Transfermarkt data.
Arsenal: €283.20m loss
Liverpool: €263.40m loss
Man Utd: €176.50m loss
Tottenham: €168.10m loss
Sunderland: €136.90m loss
Man City: €136.30m loss
Everton: €117.15m loss
Nottingham Forest: €108.00m loss
Leeds United: €105.70m loss
Newcastle United: €102.85m loss
burnley">Burnley: €93.65m loss
West Ham: €54.30m loss
Fulham: €27.50m loss
Chelsea: €6.90m loss
Wolves: €2.50m loss
Crystal Palace: €18.85m profit
Aston Villa: €24.65m profit
Brentford: €56.60m profit
Brighton: €66.00m profit
Bournemouth: €100.31m profit
James Trafford sale offsets healthy Burnley summer spend
As mentioned, the sale of Trafford to Manchester City - for €31.2m according to Transfermarkt - helped balance the books during an expensive summer for Burnley. Even so, the Clarets spent €128.65m before sales, which was the 14th-highest in the Premier League just behind Everton, and ahead of Leeds United, Brentford, Brighton, Crystal Palace, Fulham and Aston Villa.
Burnley place even higher when it comes to net spend, sitting 11th in between Newcastle and London heavyweights West Ham United. The five most expensive arrivals for Burnley over the summer were Lesley Ugochukwu (€28.7m), Armando Broja (€23m), Loum Tchaouna (€15.15m), Bashir Humphreys (€14m) and the €10m captures of Quilindschy Hartman and Marcus Edwards.
What next for Burnley?
Burnley will now head off for the final international break of 2025, but when they return, they face tough challenges at home to Chelsea, away at Brentford, at home against Crystal Palace, and away at Newcastle United.
The Clarets have eight Premier League matches to play before the January transfer window opens, and Scott Parker’s men will look to put as many points on the board before that moment comes about. How they perform during that time will dictate how much they will spend in January, and how many players Parker will look to add to his squad in the battle for survival.
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