Daily Dispatch

Clubs smile all way to bank in transfers

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ENGLISH Premier League clubs made $50-million (R838-million) in profit from the January transfer window, the first time they have come out of the football horse-trading in the black, according to a study yesterday.

The 20 clubs spent £215-million (R3.6-billion) on new players during the market from January 1 until Tuesday, according to the estimate by the Deloitte consultanc­y. It’s the second highest amount for this window since 2011.

It said total gross spending by Premier League clubs for the 2016-17 season is now almost at £1.4-billion, beating the previous record of £1-billion set last season. Deloitte said however that this time, the Premier League clubs had recorded net transfer receipts of £40-million.

“The sales of Oscar, Dmitri Payet, Odion Ighalo and Memphis Depay, as well as around £20-million worth of sales to Championsh­ip clubs, have helped Premier League clubs record net receipts for the first time in a transfer window,” said Dan Jones from Deloitte’s sports business department.

“As was the case last year, it is clubs in the bottom half of the table who have driven expenditur­e this January, investing in their squads in an attempt to secure survival.”

The clubs currently in the bottom six – Hull City, Sunderland, Crystal Palace, Swansea, reigning champions Leicester and Middlesbro­ugh – together spent £110-million, 50% of total spending. In the last transfer market in July and August 2016, the top six accounted for almost 60% of spending.

Jones said Premier League spending for the 2016-17 season of almost £1.4-billion was up 32% on 2015-16. — AFP

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