Premier League clubs smashed spending records this summer, splashing out a combined £3.4bn, according to Sky Sports. But raw outlay tells only part of the story - the broadcaster's Between the Lines analysis applies a market adjustment to player valuations to work out which clubs actually got the best and worst value from their business.
Rather than simply ranking who spent the most, the study weighs fees against what players were genuinely worth in the current market, offering a clearer picture of smart dealing versus wasteful spending. That approach highlights buyers who secured players below their adjusted market value as shrewd operators, while those who overpaid relative to true worth are flagged as poor value in the window.
The same logic applies on the selling side, assessing which clubs cashed in effectively on departing players versus those who let talent go for less than it was worth.
With Sky Sports naming specific winners and losers among Premier League sides in categories for both buying and selling, the report underlines just how inflated this summer's market became - and which clubs navigated it best.