Premiership Transfer Spree Begins
Manchester United set standard with £47 million outlay
United set benchmark
Manchester United showed the rest of the Premiership that they are not prepared to rest on their title-winning laurels. After regaining the Premiership crown they have set the standard, by signing three players for a total of around £47 million. It was confirmed today that Bayern Munich’s Owen Hargreaves will sign for the club on July the 1st, for a fee of £17 million pounds. United have also agreed deals, in principle, with Brazilian wonder-kid, Anderson, from FC Porto, and Portuguese international, Nani, from Sporting Lisbon; both deals will cost the club around £30 million. The bad news is that the spending is not expected to end there, with Sir Alex Ferguson reportedly looking to add at least another striker to the squad.
Liverpool to follow
These moves highlight the large amount of money now available to certain Premiership clubs after a number of high profile takeovers from foreign investors. Liverpool have a reported £50 million transfer kitty and manager Rafa Benitez publicly stated his intention to spend in the summer,after their Champions League defeat to AC Milan. The Anfield outfit are believed to be close to sealing a £10 million deal for French international Florent Malouda, and are targeting Valencia midfielder David Villa and Barcelona striker Samuel E’to.
Money available elsewhere
Elsewhere, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur will have significant transfer funds available. Aston Villa manager Martin O’Neill has around £25-30 million at his disposal, and both Sam Allardyce at Newcastle United, and Alan Curbishley at West Ham United, have been handed significant sums of money in order to turn their respective clubs into European contenders next season.
Deloitte’s financial warning
Additionally, Deloitte’s annual review of football finances showed that the Premiership was the highest earning football league in the world, with wages set to top the £1 billion mark for the first time in football history. This will obviously attract the world’s leading players, but with Premiership spending on transfers set to exceed £300m this summer, Deloitte's Paul Rawnsley warned it was not viable for clubs to simply throw money at players.
Whether the warning is heeded remains to be seen as relegation from the Premiership could prove disastrous: something that former giants Leeds United and Nottingham Forest have found to their cost. The same Deloitte report highlights the growing chasm between the Premiership and Championship divisions. Promotion from the Championship to the Premiership was worth about £60 million pounds to this season’s successful clubs, Sunderland, Birmingham City and Derby County, and it is believed that the gap between revenue at the average Premiership club and Championship side would grow to around £70 million next season.
Whatever happens, it promises to be an eventful summer in the Premiership transfer market as clubs prepare for the new season.
