RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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What do Elliot Anderson, Morgan Rogers and Sandro Tonali have in common? <p>All three made moves for £100m or more this summer - but they also follow a growing trend where 'Big Six' clubs - defined as Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea and Spurs - sign players from their non-Big Six Premier League rivals.</p><widget id="18"></widget><p>So, how much are the league's powerhouse clubs spending on players from other teams in the top flight?</p> <widget id="17"></widget><p>Since summer 2016, Big Six clubs have spent £2.8bn on players from non-Big Six Premier League rivals. The trend has accelerated sharply: £647m last season was the highest in history, and the total already stands at £420m this summer.</p><ul><li><a href="https://qrcode.skysports.com/TransfersSkySportsApp" target="_blank"><strong>Transfer Centre LIVE!</strong></a><strong> </strong></li><li><strong>Not got Sky? <a href="https://www.sky.com/tv/sports?dcmp=Ilc_skysports_nc_articlelink" target="_blank">Get Sky Sports</a> or <a href="http://www.nowtv.com/membership/watch-sky-sports?DCMP=ilc_skysports_nc_articlelink" target="_blank">stream with no contract on NOW</a></strong><strong>📺</strong></li><li><a href="https://www.skysports.com/football/news/12110/10952996/sky-sports-push-notifications-faq-how-to-receive-the-alerts-you-want" target="_blank"><strong>Choose the Sky Sports push notifications you want!</strong></a> 🔔</li></ul> <widget id="13"></widget><h3>Is more Premier League business staying in-house?</h3><p>Premier League clubs are increasingly buying from within the league. The total spend on intra-Premier League signings reached £1.29bn last season - the highest ever by a wide margin.</p> <widget id="14"></widget><p>Why? Clubs are increasingly looking to recruit tried-and-tested players for minimal risk, but that security now comes at an increasingly high price.</p> <widget id="4"></widget><p>A fairer comparison is to look at the proportion of money spent on players already plying their trade in the division.</p><p>That share reached a record-low 14 per cent in 2018/19, with the majority of teams splashing cash on overseas talent - but that has generally trended upwards since then and currently stands at 41 per cent this summer to date.</p> <widget id="5"></widget><h3>Which clubs rely most on domestic market?</h3><p>Chelsea are the Premier League hub for transfers, spending a staggering £862m on players from other Premier League clubs since 2016. The majority of that has been spent since the BlueCo takeover in 2022.</p> <widget id="16"></widget><p>The biggest intra-Premier League corridor remains Brighton to Chelsea, with deals totalling £263m since the summer of 2016.</p> <widget id="8"></widget><p>Chelsea have also signed £222m of players from Leicester and £156m from Aston Villa, with Alejandro Garnacho moving the other way on loan this summer.</p><p>But the Big Six also offload heavily to other Premier League clubs. Chelsea are in a league of their own when it comes to spending (£862m) <em>and</em> selling (£683m) to their league rivals since 2016/17.</p> <widget id="7"></widget><h3>Summer window hotting up</h3><p>One thing is clear: the top end of the transfer market continues to accelerate, with the average top-end signing now costing £68m.</p> <widget id="10"></widget><p>Six of the top 10 deals so far this summer are intra-Premier League deals, excluding Mateus Fernandes' £85m move from relegated West Ham to Spurs.</p> <widget id="11"></widget><p>Indeed, Spurs have been the biggest-spending club in the window so far with £237m spent, followed by Chelsea (£203.5m) and Manchester City (£129m).</p> <widget id="12"></widget><p>In the Squad Cost Ratio (SCR) era, Big Six clubs increasingly appear to believe Premier League players offer lower recruitment risk - while giving the league's other clubs one of the quickest routes to financial headroom.</p> <widget id="20"></widget><p>The direction of travel is clear: more Premier League money is staying inside the league, and the Big Six are increasingly finding their next signings closer to home.</p> <widget id="1"></widget>
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