Manchester United and Tottenham are by some distance the Premier League’s worst underperformers when you compare every club’s total squad cost in transfer fees to their position in the league table.
That’s no great surprise, considering both clubs are currently languishing in the bottom half of the table, despite having two of the most expensively assembled squads.
But what about the rest? Who are the sides punching above their weight and which chairmen ought to feel they should be getting more bang for their buck?
Nottingham Forest and Fulham are the biggest overachievers, with each side assembling their squad for less than €300million.
The likes of Brentford and Crystal Palace are also doing well for themselves, despite having two of the cheapest assembled squads in the Premier League.
Compared to their fellow top-six rivals, Liverpool have also done well for themselves this season. Arne Slot’s side are the runaway leaders in the Premier League, despite only having the sixth most expensively assembled squad.
However, the same cannot be said of perennial champions Manchester City, who have fallen well below expectations this season.
Pep Guardiola’s side currently sit fifth in the table, despite having a squad that cost a whopping €1.1billion to assemble.
Chelsea, who have taken great strides forward to be in the mix for Champions League qualification under Enzo Maresca, arguably ought to consider that the least of their ambitions given they possess the Premier League’s second most expensive squad.
We’ve listed every Premier League single club by their league position in comparison to their squad’s cost in transfer fees, ranking them in order of the biggest overperformers down to the biggest underperformers.
1. Nottingham Forest
League Position: 3rd
Squad cost: 14th
Total squad cost: €288million
Difference: +11
2. Fulham
League Position: 8th
Squad cost: 17th
Total squad cost: €245million
Difference: +9
3. Liverpool
League Position: 1st
Squad cost: 6th
Total squad cost: €665million
Difference: +5
=4. Brentford
League Position: 11th
Squad cost: 15th
Total squad cost: €259million
Difference: +4
=4. Crystal Palace
League Position: 12th
Squad cost: 16th
Total squad cost: €256million
Difference: +4
=6. Arsenal
League Position: 2nd
Squad cost: 5th
Total squad cost: €740million
Difference: +3
=6. Everton
League Position: 15th
Squad cost: 18th
Total squad cost: €239million
Difference: +3
=6. Bournemouth
League Position: 10th
Squad cost: 13th
Total squad cost: €295million
Difference: +3
=9. Aston Villa
League Position: 9th
Squad cost: 11th
Total squad cost: €365million
Difference: +2
=9. Brighton
League Position: 7th
Squad cost: 9th
Total squad cost: €385million
Difference: +2
=9. Ipswich Town
League Position: 18th
Squad cost: 20th
Total squad cost: €160million
Difference: +2
12. Newcastle United
League Position: 6th
Squad cost: 7th
Total squad cost: €604million
Difference: +1
13. Southampton
League Position: 20th
Squad cost: 19th
Total squad cost: €213million
Difference: -1
14. Chelsea
League Position: 4th
Squad cost: 2nd
Total squad cost: €977million
Difference: -2
15. Manchester City
League Position: 5th
Squad cost: 1st
Total squad cost: €1.1billion
Difference: -4
=16. Leicester City
League Position: 19th
Squad cost: 12th
Total squad cost: €302million
Difference: -7
=16. Wolves
League Position: 17th
Squad cost: 10th
Total squad cost: €372million
Difference: -7
18. West Ham
League Position: 16th
Squad cost: 8th
Total squad cost: €434million
Difference: -8
=19. Tottenham
League Position: 14th
Squad cost: 4th
Total squad cost: €747million
Difference: -10
=19. Manchester United
League Position: 13th
Squad cost: 3rd
Total squad cost: €835million
Difference: -10
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