The summer transfer window is something we all look forward to. Which players will leave their current clubs and who will take their place?
In the case of these five clubs, however, not much financial action took place in the transfer window. Whether they made shrewd deals or simply didn’t sign many players, these are the five clubs with the lowest transfer spend in the Premier League over the last couple of months.
Previously, we took a look at the Premier League clubs with the highest transfer spend this summer – today, we’ll be examining the inverse.
Fulham £87m
Fulham had a pretty poor start to the summer, when they lost key player Harry Wilson on a free transfer to Premier League rivals to Leeds United. Still, while they haven’t spent much, they’ve made a few smart signings.
Gonzalo Garcia topped the bill, arriving at Craven Cottage from Real Madrid for a fee of just over £34 million. He was the only player they brought in for more than £30 million – players such as Shea Charles, Cesra Palacios and Manuel Angel were snapped up for comparitive bargains.
We’ll have to see how the Cottagers get on this season – with two losses from their first two games, they’ve had a slow start, but still remain a bit of an unknown prospect under new head coach Alvaro Arbeloa.
Leeds United – £85m
Leeds United’s summer transfer window was so low spending because of their intelligence in the market, rather than a reluctance to spend money.
As we previously mentioned, they signed Harry Wilson on a free in a stunning piece of business. The only big-money arrivals at Elland Road were James Trafford and Tarik Muharemovic, who were brought in for fees of £40 million and £34 million, respectively.
The Whites have become known for their clever use of funds in the summer transfer window recently – notably, they also got their hands on Dominic Calvert-Lewin last summer on a free.
Crystal Palace – £73m
This has been a disappointing window for Crystal Palace. Having qualified for the Europa League at the end of last season by winning the Europa Conference League, one might’ve expected them to strengthen their squad.
It hasn’t quite worked out that way, though. The Eagles have spent the entire summer on the defensive, having lost key players like Maxence Lacroix and Daniel Munoz in the last few weeks.
Unfortunately, they haven’t done much to replace these outgoings, either. When your marquee summer signing is Dwight McNeil, it might be time to start panicking.
Bournemouth – £69m
Bournemouth had a rip-roaring start to the summer transfer window, signing highly-rated young centre-back Antonio Silva, but didn’t do much major business after this.
With Europa League football on the horizon, this could be an issue. Is the Cherries’ squad deep enough to cope with the added set of fixtures?
While this is a question that will be answered soon enough, they managed to keep hold of most of their key players, minus Marcos Senesi.
Sunderland – £66m
After Sunderland’s spending spree last summer, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the Black Cats have opted to rein things in a bit this time around.
They didn’t lose any of their key players and therefore weren’t required to spend heavily, though they did need to make depth addition to cope with European football this season.
Their biggest signing was Malick Fofana, beating Manchester United in the race to sign him. They also signed veteran full-back Thomas Meunier on a free transfer in a clever stroke of business.