There are now more than 20 transfers of £30m and above, and Tottenham have the most expensive of the lot having signed their belated Harry Kane replacement.
Players are ranked by size of the initial fee, with add-ons stated.
1) Dominic Solanke (Bournemouth to Tottenham) – £55m plus add-ons
Very unfortunate to miss out on the England squad for Euro 2024, but 19 Premier League goals was enough to earn him a move to Tottenham. Just Manchester City, Manchester United and Arsenal to go for a Big Six clean sweep.
2) Leny Yoro (Lille to Manchester United) – £52m plus add-ons
Man Utd fans want you to believe that they ‘beat Real Madrid’ to the signing of Leny Yoro, as if he didn’t have a choice in the matter. Nevertheless, this is a brilliant signing for the Red Devils, who have landed one of the best teenagers in world football. Another centre-back remains on the agenda with Sir Jim Ratcliffe meaning business.
3) Pedro Neto (Wolves to Chelsea) – £51m plus add-ons
A very long way from being the maddest idea Chelsea have thrown 50 million quid at in recent years, and the 24-year-old could look a bargain if they can get him on the field consistently. Hefty old if, though: assorted injury setbacks mean Neto has missed over 100 games for club and country across the last four seasons.
4) Joao Neves (Benfica to PSG) – £50m plus add-ons
Just 19 years old and one of the hottest properties in world football, he has moved for a fee that could become £60m if various targets are met. “Joao is one of most talented players in Portugal and internationally,” said PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi. “He was so passionate to join Paris St-Germain and determined to fight for the jersey – which is what we expect of all our players.”
5) Amadou Onana (Everton to Aston Villa) – £50m
Aston Villa mean business ahead of their Champions League return. The signing of Onana means they are the biggest spenders of the 2024 summer transfer window.
6) Moussa Diaby (Aston Villa to Al-Ittihad) – £50m
It felt like a coup when Villa signed the Frenchman but he then started only 25 Premier League games, often being sidelined by the resurgent Leon Bailey. A year later he has left for Saudi Arabia, where he probably should have gone in the first place.
7) Dani Olmo (Leipzig to Barcelona) – £47.2m plus add-ons
Nico Williams was the top target for Barcelona but his fellow European Championship winner with Spain is a fine alternative, with Olmo returning to the club he left at 16 in a decade ago.
8) Michael Olise (Crystal Palace to Bayern Munich) – £45m plus add-ons
You will keep reading this is a £50m-plus transfer but it’s only a £50m-plus transfer if it is a success; the initial fee is £45m. But the truth is that we fully expect it to be a success because Olise is brilliant for Crystal Palace. It is a great transfer for all concerned.
9) Joao Palhinha (Fulham to Bayern Munich) – £43m plus add-ons
This is what happens when Bayern Munich fail to win the Bundesliga; they a) spend a load of money and b) spend a load of money on Premier League players because they have just appointed Vincent Kompany. Fulham have more than doubled their money in two years on Palhinha but it still feels pretty cheap for one of the best defensive midfielders in the English top flight.
10) Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa to Juventus) – £42.35m
Much to their chagrin, Champions League qualifiers Aston Villa were forced into a major sale to comply with PSR rules and avoid any potential future points deductions, with midfield lynchpin Luiz their chosen sacrifice. In a theme of this summer’s window, the Premier League club are getting a couple of players in return from the Turin side in separate deals.
11) Endrick (Palmeiras to Real Madrid) – £40m plus add-ons
This fee could change as more details emerge because reports have put the initial fee Real Madrid agreed to pay the Brazilian club over 18 months ago anywhere between £30m and £50m. We are going with the transfermarkt version for now and the truth may never actually emerge. What we do know is that Endrick signs for Real Madrid as soon as he turns 18 and that Brazil bloody loves him.
12) Max Kilman (Wolves to West Ham) – £40m
West Ham are suddenly the third-biggest spenders in Europe this summer after signing Kilman. They will inevitably fall a few places as the window progresses, but Kilman is certainly a coup after he was linked with several elite clubs.
13) Willian Pacho (Frankfurt to PSG) – £38.6m
Another graduate of the Independiente del Valle stable from which Moises Caicedo emerged, centre-half Pacho has made Frankfurt a small fortune after only signing from Royal Antwerp in June 2023.
14) Ian Maatsen (Chelsea to Aston Villa) – £37.5m
Had a big hand in Borussia Dortmund’s charge to the Champions League final last term having moved to the Bundesliga side on loan in January, though he didn’t cover himself in glory in the final. That’s another significant chunk of pure profit for Chelsea, who have made around £170m through the sale of academy graduates in the last two seasons.
15) Joshua Zirkzee (Bologna to Manchester United) – £36.5m
The first signing of a brave new era for the club is obviously a Dutchman, although Zirkzee does not come with the requisite Eredivisie experience of your usual Erik ten Hag player. Manchester United actually paid more than the forward’s £33.6m release clause, but for PSR-friendly pay structure reasons rather typical incompetence.
16) Elliot Anderson (Newcastle to Nottingham Forest) – £35m
A huge amount of money for a 21-year-old with 44 Premier League appearances – only 13 of those from the start – who’s yet to earn a cap for Scotland, but Anderson is firmly in the There’s Something About Him category, would have played more last season were it not for a significant spell out with a back injury, and we’ve probably now just got to accept that the going rate for budding academy talent these days is about twice what it should be.
17) Riccardo Calafiori (Bologna to Arsenal) – £33.6m rising to £42m
Mikel Arteta claims he’s been an admirer for a while but nothing will convince us that he wasn’t persuaded by that assist for Italy against Croatia at Euro 2024, which was worth the £42m alone. He joins a frightening array of defenders on the books at the Emirates.
18) Alessandro Buongiorno (Torino to Napoli) – £30.1m
After a difficult season at the end of which Napoli actually finished behind Torino in Serie A’s mid-table on head-to-head record, the 2023 champions simply signed their Italian international centre-half and gift-wrapped him for new manager Antonio Conte. Buongiorno indeed.
19) Archie Gray (Leeds United to Tottenham) – £30m
Leeds United described themselves as ‘heartbroken’ to see teenager Gray depart but he has secured an excellent move just days after he seemed to be on the move to Brentford. As is customary this summer, Tottenham also sold Joe Rodon to Leeds United in a ‘separate’ deal.
MORE ON TRANSFERS FROM F365:
👉Every Premier League completed transfer in the summer of 2024
👉Top 10 biggest spenders across Europe in summer of 2024
👉Top 10 biggest sellers across Europe in summer of 2024
20) Yankuba Minteh (Newcastle to Brighton) – £30m
Lyon made a move for Minteh, at which point the 19-year-old insisted he had his heart set on Everton, which we thought was a bit odd, until Brighton came calling and we realised he was actually just keen to remain in the Premier League. The fact that it is Brighton who have got the deal over the line will be of great concern to Newcastle fans given the Seagulls’ transfer market excellence, adding to the frustration that they’re allowing a teenager who got ten goals and six assists on loan at Feyenoord last season to leave at all.
