Top ten most expensive summer transfers so far: Chelsea, Man City and Spurs all confirm £100m deals
Premier League clubs have been hard at work splashing the cash this summer, with three clubs already completing nine-figure deals.
The transfer record for a British player has been broken with Chelsea sealing the £117million capture of Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa.
The 2026 summer window officially opened on June 15, with talkSPORT.com already providing a completed list of every deal.
Due to certain PSR constraints, some initial-loan agreements in previous windows have since become permanent this summer.
The rising inflation in the transfer market also means relegation is no longer a signal for clubs to poach key players on the cheap.
With that in mind, teams have had to open up their chequebooks. Below are the top 10 most expensive arrivals in the Premier League…
10. Luka Vuskovic (Tottenham to Brighton) – £46m
The Seagulls have built a reputation for signing young gems for moderate prices before later selling them on for big profits.
However, Fabian Hurzeler’s men were forced to break their club record to prize Croatia defender Vuskovic from Tottenham.
The total deal for the 19-year-old includes bonuses that take the price above £50m, with the centre-back signing a five-year contract.
Spurs had previously knocked back two offers worth £30m and £35m for Vuskovic, who never played a competitive game in north London.
However, Vuskovic, labelled as a generational talent, underlined his standing as one of Europe’s brightest young players while out on loan at Hamburg last season.
9. Marco Palestra (Atalanta to Chelsea) – £47m
The Blues moved fast to hijack Inter Milan’s move for the 21-year-old right-back, who has signed a six-year deal at Stamford Bridge.
The Atalanta academy graduate spent last season on loan at Cagliari and was named Serie A’s defender of the year.
He scored once and registered four assists across 37 appearances in Italy’s top-flight and is an ideal fit for Xabi Alonso’s wing-back system.
Palestra made his senior international debut in March and earned his second cap in Italy’s World Cup play-off final defeat to Bosnia.
The defender is already in Chelsea’s first-team training and is expected to be part of their pre-season tour in Australia and Asia.
8) Andrey Santos (Chelsea to Manchester United) – £50m
talkSPORT understands the Red Devils have paid £48m plus £2m in achievable add-ons to land the Brazilian midfielder from the Blues.
Newcastle were also understood to be keen on Chelsea’s former No.17, who has now taken the same shirt number at Old Trafford.
The 22-year-old only made 13 Premier League starts last season, nearly half of which came under his ex-Strasbourg manager Liam Rosenior, during the latter’s four-month tenure as Chelsea boss.
United prioritised central midfield reinforcements this summer following Casemiro’s exit, with Manuel Ugarte also rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament at the World Cup.
7) Jan Paul van Hecke (Brighton to Tottenham) – £52m
The Netherlands defender’s move to Spurs wasn’t part of the deal that saw Vuskovic head in the opposite direction.
However, on the balance sheet, Roberto De Zerbi reunited with his former Brighton player for a nominal fee, all things considered.
Tottenham were persistent in their bid to land Van Hecke, with Seagulls CEO Paul Barber revealing on talkSPORT that the Lilywhites had two previous bids rejected.
The Dutchman, who cost Brighton just £1.8m from NAC Breda in 2020, was entering the final year of his contract with Hurzeler’s side.
6) Johan Manzambi (Freiburg to Aston Villa) – £52m
Unai Emery’s side have been involved in the biggest transfer of the summer so far, but have also broken their club record on a player.
The West Midlands club snapped up Manzambi for £52m, which surpassed the £50m forked out to land Amadou Onana in 2024.
Newcastle were close to signing the midfielder, having agreed a deal in principle with Freiburg for £51m, before Villa swooped in.
The 20-year-old played against Villa in the Europa League final, while he also scored three goals for Switzerland in the World Cup.
5) Jeremy Jacquet (Rennes to Liverpool) – £60m
Liverpool completed the biggest deal of the winter window’s deadline day by beating Chelsea to land the France U21 international.
talkSPORT understands that the Reds agreed an initial £55m to sign Jacquet, with a further £5m to be paid in potential add-ons.
A move for the defender eclipsed the £52m fee spent by Manchester City on Jeremy Doku in 2023 to become Rennes‘ record sale.
However, the 21-year-old spent the second half of last season at his boyhood club, with a move to Anfield only becoming official on July 1.
4) Mateus Fernandes (West Ham to Tottenham) – £85m
Spurs have broken their transfer record twice this summer, the first of which saw Fernandes arrive from their relegated London rivals.
The 22-year-old was one of the standout Premier League midfielders last season, despite West Ham’s struggles.
He scored five top-flight goals and registered four assists in 41 appearances but missed out on Portugal’s World Cup squad.
However, Troy Deeney told talkSPORT that he questioned whether Fernandes was really the player to ‘change the mentality’ at Tottenham after his successive relegations, having also failed to beat the drop at Southampton.
3) Sandro Tonali (Newcastle to Tottenham) – £100m
Spurs shattered their transfer record again to poach the Italian from Newcastle less than a week after unveiling Fernandes.
Tonali joined De Zerbi’s side in a £100m deal – an initial £92.5m fee with £7.5m in proposed add-ons.
The 26-year-old made 110 appearances across his three seasons with Newcastle after his reported £52m move from AC Milan in July 2023.
But he was accused by talkSPORT Breakfast co-host Gabriel Agbonlahor of joining Tottenham ‘for the big bucks’.
2) Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest to Manchester City) – £116m
Man City were the first of two clubs to break the transfer record for a British player following their capture of Anderson at the start of July.
The England international sealed his move to the Etihad Stadium from Nottingham Forest for a fixed £116m fee while at the World Cup.
Forest have tried to claim the deal is worth a total of £130m, which would eclipse the Premier League transfer record set by Liverpool‘s £125m signing of Alexander Isak, but City dispute this.
Anderson featured in all of England’s games during their run to third at the World Cup – their best finish at the tournament since 1966.
1) Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa to Chelsea) – £117m
Anderson’s reign as the most expensive British player lasted mere weeks as his England teammate Rogers took the crown.
The 23-year-old was the leading target at Arsenal, but he has now signed a six-year deal, with the option of another 12 months, at their London rivals Chelsea.
“I’m so excited,” Rogers said on the move.
“For me, Chelsea are the biggest club in London and a club I’ve always admired since I was a kid.
“I’m really excited about the project with the new manager, the players we’ve got and where the club is heading. That’s why I’m here, and I can’t wait to get started.
“The way the club wants to go and how it wants to move forward, it’s something I want to be a part of, and I think it was just perfect for me.
“I’m a free spirit, free-flowing footballer. I like to take risks, make things happen, change games. Whatever that may take. Just can’t wait to get started.”
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