How the Premier League table would look if net spend influenced points
Premier League clubs are looking to balance out their transfer business despite spending heavily again in the recent summer window.
The £2.6billion spent on new signings set a new Premier League record for a single window, while Alexander Isak’s £125million move to Liverpool broke the transfer record.
Liverpool were the biggest spenders throughout the summer window, having forked out £446m on eight new additions.
However, Arne Slot’s side balanced out their expenditure with almost £230m worth of sales, dramatically reducing their overall net spend.
The Premier League champions continue to lead the way at the top of the table despite their 2-1 defeat against Crystal Palace on Saturday (27 September).
Premier League table based on net spend
Hyperset’s Data and Audience Insights expert Stefan Wojciechowski has created a Premier League table adjusted for each club’s net spend.
In terms of how the table is calculated, each team’s net spend over the past five years is decimalised and subtracted from one, and then it is multiplied by 1.2 to provide the weighting.
Palace, who currently sit second in the actual Premier League table with 12 points, top the adjusted net spend table with 12.3 points.
Oliver Glasner’s side spent around £50m in the summer transfer window, while Eberechi Eze’s £67.5m move to Arsenal ensured they had a positive net spend.
Chairman Steve Parish is known for being a shrewd operator, helping Palace post a club-record revenue of £189.2m in their latest published accounts for 2023-24.
Meanwhile, Liverpool are currently three points above Palace on 15 points in the Premier League, but the adjusted table has them in fifth spot on 10.3 points following their recent heavy spending.
Premier League net spend table highlights Man United’s transfer woes
Manchester United’s transfer business has been heavily criticised in recent years after multiple stars have failed to make the grade at Old Trafford.
That didn’t prevent Ruben Amorim’s side from spending big again in the summer window, with £232m worth of additions and £62m brought in from sales giving them a £170m net spend.
Benjamin Sesko’s £74m move from RB Leipzig was Man United‘s biggest signing, but the striker has so far registered just one goal in his opening seven appearances.
The Manchester giants’ net spend over the past five years is -£679m, leading to their points total dropping from seven in the actual Premier League table to 2.7 in the adjusted table.
That sees Amorim’s side slip from their actual position of 14th to 19th in the adjusted table, while bottom of the league Wolves‘ points total of one rises to 1.2 due to their healthy net spend.