Nick Barnes and James Copley react to Sunderland 1-1 Leeds United
The January transfer window is about to open, but how much have Sunderland already spent this season?
The January transfer window is upon us, but it remains unclear just how much Sunderland will be willing to spend.
Regis Le Bris’ men have made an excellent start to life back in the Premier League, sitting seventh in the table with 28 points on the board from 18 games, leaving them just four points adrift of the top four. That performance comes off the back of a lavish summer spend that saw the Black Cats bring no fewer than 15 players through the door at the Stadium of Light.
But just how much cash did Sunderland put down, especially compared to their Premier League rivals? We’ve taken a look at Transfermarkt data to answer that question.
Where does Sunderland’s summer net spend rank in the Premier League?
Arsenal - €283.20m loss
Liverpool - €264.18m loss
Manchester United - €176.50m loss
Tottenham Hotspur - €169.10m loss
Sunderland - €136.50m loss
Everton - €125.75m loss
Manchester City - €117.40m loss
Newcastle United - €113.85m loss
Nottingham Forest - €112.50m loss
Leeds United - €105.70m loss
Burnley - €93.65m loss
West Ham United - €77.30m loss
Fulham - €23.50m loss
Wolverhampton Wanderers - €2.50m loss
Chelsea - €4.09m profit
Crystal Palace - €17.70m profit
Aston Villa - €25.15m profit
Brentford - €56.60m profit
Brighton and Hove Albion - €73.01m profit
AFC Bournemouth - €100.31m profit
It seems wild to think about, given the club were in League One just three-and-a-half years ago, but Sunderland were only outspent by Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham this summer.
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More accurately, only the Premier League’s top two and the two Europa League finalists from 2024/25 spent more than the newly-promoted Black Cats, who parted with record sums to bring the likes of Habib Diarra (€31.50m), Simon Adingra (€24.40m) and Brian Brobbey (€20m) to the club. And that’s not to mention more shrewd captures like club captain Granit Xhaka (€15m) and goalkeeper Robin Roefs (€10.5m), who have both proven extremely valuable and effective.
Everton were the next-closest net spenders to Sunderland with a €125.75m loss, compared to €136.50m from the Black Cats - with even the likes of Manchester City (€117.40M), Newcastle United (€113.85m) and Chelsea (€4.09m profit) below them in this particular table. This is why it’s so hard to imagine Sunderland going hard in the January transfer market, having already spent so much this season and sitting pretty in the table.
That said, only West Ham (19), Burnley (19), Everton (18), Nottingham Forest (18) and Wolves (10) have scored fewer than their 20 goals, so perhaps another natural striker could be on the menu.
What next for Sunderland?
Before thinking about additions to his squad, Le Bris will be fully focused on Sunderland’s New Year’s Day clash at home to Manchester City - looking to return to winning ways after back-to-back draws against Brighton and Leeds United. The start of 2026 continues in difficult fashion, with Sunderland then facing three straight away games against Tottenham Hotspur, Brentford and Everton - the latter in the third round of the FA Cup.
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