Spending vast amounts of money is a given in football nowadays. To be the best, you need the best players, and that typically means forking out huge sums in order to bring top talent to your club.
That was certainly the case in the Premier League during the 2025 summer transfer window, with £3.2 billion spent on players by all 20 teams. Liverpool led the way in terms of expenditure, having signed Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz for nine-figure fees, although there were five clubs who spent over the £200m mark.
But have teams seen a return on their investment? With eight games on the board for every side, we can see which clubs have got their value for money by taking the total sum spent and dividing it by their points total, which gives us the total spent per point.
20-16
The bottom five here are all proving that you don't need to spend big to get results, with some clubs currently sitting in the top half after the opening eight gameweeks. Aston Villa might have had a slow start to the year, but they've seemingly turned a corner under Unai Emery. Currently on 12 points, they barely spent at all compared to other teams in this league, meaning each point so far has cost them just £2.3m.
Crystal Palace are also enjoying a spectacular season, made all the more impressive by the fact that they spent just £49.8m and lost their talisman in Eberechi Eze. They are in 19th, trailing just behind Fulham, who scrape in front thanks to the Cottagers spending significantly less in the summer.
Completing the (positive) bottom five are two clubs who have both gained reputations for finding bargains and selling them on for big profit. Brighton are particularly notorious for developing talented prospects into stars and are currently averaging just £5.6m per point won so far this season. They are some way behind Bournemouth, who are flying once again under Andoni Iraola, despite them losing key players in Dean Huijsen and Illia Zabarnyi among others.
Premier League Clubs' Total Spent Per Point Won (20-16)
Rank
20.
19.
18.
17.
16.
15-11
Brentford aren't known for making huge splashes in the transfer market and that's proven to be the case yet again this year. But the Bees, despite losing talismen Yoane Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo, have made a decent start to the year under new boss Keith Andrews, recording 10 points and averaging just fractionally more than Bournemouth below them.
A similar point can be made for Everton, who spent big to bring the likes of Tyler Dibling, Thierno Barry and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to the Hill Dickinson Stadium this summer. Initial signs indicate it's been worth it for the Toffees, although they'll need to sustain their performances and not get dragged into a relegation battle.
While Manchester City have been notorious big spenders in seasons gone by, Pep Guardiola's side have backed this summer's expenditure with an impressive start to the new term. They find themselves just three points behind league leaders Arsenal, despite spending significantly less than the Gunners. That, consequently, means they trail a fair bit behind their potential title rivals.
Tottenham weren't too far behind City in terms of expenditure, but they have less points to show for their efforts so far, hence their higher position in this table. They trail just behind Leeds United, who broke the £100m mark upon their return to the Premier League.
Premier League Clubs' Total Spent Per Point Won (15-11)
Rank
15.
14.
13.
12.
11.
10-6
The top 10 kicks off with two newly promoted teams in the form of Sunderland and Burnley. The Black Cats showed their intent to stay up by recruiting heavily in the summer and look well on track to do so, but the same can't necessarily be said for the Clarets. Both teams, however, trail way behind Arsenal in eighth place when it comes to overall spend.
The Gunners sit top of the Premier League on 19 points, with Mikel Arteta's side looking like early favourites for the title presently. They backed their manager in the transfer market to put themselves in the best position possible for this term, signing the likes of Martin Zubimendi, Noni Madueke, Eberechi Eze and Viktor Gyokeres. Not all the new recruits have hit the ground running, especially the latter, who's been criticised for lacklustre performances to date. But the Swede still has plenty of time to show why they spent £64m on him.
Ruben Amorim was seemingly feeling the pressure at Manchester United after a slow start to 2025/26, but two consecutive league wins could have a transformative effect on his tenure at the club. One thing's for sure, the victories against Liverpool and Sunderland have certainly helped their spend per point total, although they've still spent nearly £18m on each of them.
Since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital arrived at Chelsea, no team has matched their spending sprees in the market in years gone by. Although they were not the biggest spenders this summer, they still came in at second place after forking out big fees for Jamie Gittens, Alejandro Garnacho, Joao Pedro and others. And their cost per point this year is still pretty hefty, with the Blues the first team to register a spend of over £20m.
Premier League Clubs' Total Spent Per Point Won (10-6)
Rank
10.
9.
8.
7.
6.
5-1
The top five clubs are a mix of big spenders who are underperforming and teams who have simply had atrocious starts to the new term. Newcastle spent a lot this summer, adding the likes of Anthony Elanga and Nick Woltemade to the squad. But due to a variety of issues, such as new signings needing time to settle in, Eddie Howe's side haven't made much of a mark in 2025/26 so far.
Liverpool, who broke the British transfer record to sign Isak from Newcastle, are certainly guilty of underperforming, having lost four consecutive games for the first time since 2014. Although the Reds are still in contention for the title, a number of their signings have been a disappointment so far and haven't made the desired impact just yet.
The top three, though, are all teams who are struggling for form, despite them spending moderate to big amounts in the summer. Graham Potter couldn't blend his £131.4m worth of signings and his existing players at West Ham, which led to his sacking. New manager Nuno Espirito Santo has had a mixed start to life in east London, and will need to pick up more points to avoid relegation.
Nottingham Forest's woes, meanwhile, are made all the more painful by the fact that they spent nearly £200m in the summer, but even their struggles are only enough to finish in second place here. Wolverhampton Wanderers, while nowhere near the top of the pile for biggest spend, have just two points to show from their opening eight games. Having spent £105.6m to bring seven players to the club, each point has cost them a whopping £52.8m! That total will come down rapidly as they pick up more points, but Vitor Pereira's side don't look like they'll be turning their struggles around anytime soon.
Premier League Clubs' Total Spent Per Point Won (5-1)
Rank
5.
4.
3.
2.
1.
All statistics courtesy of Sky Sports - Correct as of 20/10/2025