A new Premier League transfer table puts Everton and Brighton together in a rather exclusive club.
They are the only two teams in the current top flight to have made an overall profit on transfers across the five seasons from 2022/23 to the present.
Using Transfermarkt data, Everton’s balance is £3.34m in profit, while Brighton are £11.04m in the black.
On the face of it, they look remarkably similar. Anyone who has watched the two clubs operate over those five years might disagree.
Same end of the table, very different stories
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Club Five-season net spend
Tottenham £695.95m
Arsenal £681.70m
Man Utd £664.40m
Chelsea £608.45m
Liverpool £569.66m
Man City £513.62m
Newcastle £344.92m
Nott’m Forest £300.10m
Ipswich £282.31m
Bournemouth £205.16m
Fulham £198.75m
Sunderland £173.08m
Brentford £164.84m
Coventry £140.89m
Hull City £120.00m
Crystal Palace £89.22m
Leeds £79.39m
Aston Villa £66.52m
Everton £3.34m profit
Brighton £11.04m profit
Source: Football365 using Transfermarkt data, summer 2022 to present.
Brighton’s reputation has been built on buying well, developing players and knowing when to sell. Huge fees have been generated from players including Moises Caicedo, Marc Cucurella and others, with the money repeatedly recycled into the squad.
Everton have reached almost the same place by a very different route.
Much of this period has been spent dealing with the consequences of previous spending, PSR restrictions, managerial changes and eventually a change of ownership.
And even after all that, this summer ended with Beto and Iliman Ndiaye leaving and the proposed signing of Folarin Balogun collapsing on Deadline Day.
David Moyes was left with Thierno Barry as his only recognised senior centre-forward. As we wrote earlier, Everton may now have to wrap Barry in cotton wool until January.
That is why the Brighton comparison is so revealing.
One club’s position near the bottom of this table looks like the product of a plan.
Everton’s feels rather more like the product of five years spent trying to recover from what went before.
Same part of the table. Differing achievements.
For updates on the Toffees throughout the season, take a look at our LIVE! Premier League 2026/27 News, Transfers, Updates & Viral Moments page.
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