When do transfers usually happen?
Which clubs are most active as deadline day approaches?
What is the impact of making late signings?
in the
How important is
transfer
timing
Premier League?

How much money is spent close to deadline day?
Over the last decade, around a quarter of the cash spent on summer signings changes hands in the final week of the window, with over half of it on deadline day itself
How much money
will be spent in total?
As of Monday 29th July there are more days to go until the window closes.
The average cost of a deal rises by 23% in the final week of the transfer window
5.2
12.8
5.6
6.6
7.8
EFL or lower
Final week
2
8
4
6
When do
usually
transfers
happen?
% of spend
Timing of transfer
13.1%
11.6%
5.0%
6.9%
8.2%
30.3%
24.8%
£
On deadline day
Between 1st July and last 4 weeks
Within 1 week of deadline day
Within 1-2 weeks
Within 2-3 weeks
Within 3-4 weeks
On the 1st of July
10
26.6%
Usually by this stage, of all the money spent by Premier League clubs has yet to change hands
This means that we can expect an additional to be spent - including
on deadline day itself - for a total of
in total.
£274m
£139m
£1,060m
What effect does an earlier deadline have?
The earlier deadline was introduced last year and immediately reversed a rising trend
in the percentage of money spent on
deadline day … which almost halved
2014/15
10.7%
2015/16
2016/17
2017/18
2018/19
£89m/
£829m
£98m/
£855m
11.4%
£154m/
£1,155m
13.3%
£211m/
£1,422m
14.8%
£114m
£1,268m
9.0%
£89m/
£829m
10.7%
£98m/
£855m
11.4%
£154m/
£1,155m
13.3%
£211m/
£1,422m
14.8%
£114m/
£1,268m
9.0%
Clubs actually spent less on deadline day than in 2013/14 (£114m vs. £127m) despite overall spending doubling from £634m to £1,268m
How much does it cost
you if you leave it late?
Major European league*
Other overseas league
Premier League
Overall
+79.5%
Change
2.9
9.7
5.3
6.9
6.4
Earlier in window
+32.4%
+5.0%
-3.7%
+23.0%
x4
* La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga or Ligue 1
Seven-figure transfer
deals are also more likely
Selling league
Premier League
Major European league*
EFL or lower
Other overseas league
Overall
23.1%
42.0%
17.8%
20.0%
26.6%
22.7%
32.3%
6.0%
17.5%
20.3%
Selling league
Final week
Earlier
No matter where players are signed from, it’s likelier that they’ll cost at least £10m when they move in the final week of the summer transfer window
£274m
Which clubs have recruited the most EFL talent?
Percentage of signings made by current Premier League clubs on deadline day during the last 10 summer transfer windows
Everton
Crystal Palace
Brighton
Leicester
Bournemouth
Tottenham
Watford
Aston Villa
Burnley
Arsenal
Chelsea
West Ham
Southampton
Man City
Man Utd
Liverpool
Norwich
Wolves
Newcastle
Which clubs have been the
on
most
active
deadline
day?
23.0%
21.6%
20.8%
19.5%
17.2%
16.9%
16.3%
15.6%
13.6%
12.1%
10.4%
10.2%
9.8%
8.8%
6.6%
6.2%
5.3%
2.2%
1.7%
x15
Percentage of money spent by current Premier League clubs on deadline day during the last 10 summer transfer windows
31.4%
29.9%
25.2%
22.4%
19.8%
18.5%
18.0%
15.2%
13.8%
12.6%
11.1%
8.3%
6.6%
6.1%
4.5%
3.5%
3.3%
1.1%
0.0%
Crystal Palace
Leicester
Tottenham
Everton
Aston Villa
Burnley
Arsenal
Chelsea
Southampton
Brighton
Man Utd
Liverpool
Watford
West Ham
Bournemouth
Man City
Newcastle
Wolves
Norwich
£50.9m
Which clubs have made the most money on deadline day?
Combined income from players sold on deadline day
Income £m
Players sold
Liverpool
Everton
Arsenal
Tottenham
Man City
Leicester
Chelsea
Man Utd
West Ham
Watford
10
£49.1m
6
£44.7m
4
£38.7m
8
£35.6m
8
£34.9m
3
£33.4m
3
£19.9m
3
£12.0m
6
£8.0m
3
Excludes transfers completed when clubs were
outside the Premier League

The later you join, the smaller your chances of being a first-team regular
Percentage of new signings who played at least 75% of Premier League minutes in their first season, after joining:
What is the
impact
of making
late signings?
22.3%
18.4%
13.2%
11.7%
On July 1st
During the rest of July
During August before deadline day
On deadline day
x16
… and of being an ever-present
14
6
0
On July 1st
During the rest of July
During August
There have been 20 summer signings who have gone on to play every single minute for their new club in the last decade … and none of them signed in August
x4
Does it matter when you sign players in different positions?
Defensive players signed late in the window have a better chance of becoming a first team regular … but it’s the other way around for attackers
66.7%
61.8%
43.8%
40.5%
28.3%
20.6%
45.7%
53.5%
41.2%
48.1%
36.2%
37.6%
Position
Final week
Earlier
+21.0%
+8.3%
+2.6%
-7.6%
-8.0%
Difference
Percentage of signings who played at least half of their new club’s Premier League minutes in their first season
Goalkeeper
Centre back
Full back
Central midfield
Winger
Forward
-17.1%
Excludes players who didn’t feature in the league during their first season
Forwards are particularly vulnerable to the perils of ‘panic buying’ - only around one in five signed in the final week of the summer window played at least half of the Premier League minutes available in their first season
Buying a proven Premier League player can make a big difference
Apart from wingers and goalkeepers, players signed in the final week of the summer transfer window are more likely to become an immediate first-team regular if they join from another Premier League club
Signings made in the last week of the window who played at least half of their new club’s Premier League minutes in their first season
69.2%
40.7%
68.0%
45.5%
66.7%
21.7%
Centre back
Forward
Full back
Central midfield
Goalkeeper
Winger
26.3%
7.3%
56.7%
36.6%
66.7%
34.8%
Position
Premier League
Other
+42.9%
+33.4%
+11.3%
+8.9%
0.0%
-13.0%
Difference
Excludes players who didn’t feature in the league during their first season
Bought from ...
Late moves can impact younger forwards
Those aged 26 or older have been almost twice as likely to record a double-digit goal tally in their first season after joining in the last week of the summer transfer window
5 to 9 goals
0 to 4 goals
25 or under
10+ goals
25.0%
37.5%
37.5%
26 or older
71.4%
14.3%
14.3%
