Top 10 most expensive Premier League signings of all time

Over the last 20 years, the influx of TV money and wealthy benefactors has seen the Premier League establish itself as the biggest league in football, attracting many of the game's biggest stars.

In total, six players have cleared the €100m mark, with four going for £100m or more, and we look at the 10 most expensive signings made by Premier League clubs

10= - Jadon Sancho - €85m (Borussia Dortmund to Manchester United)

One of Manchester United's most consistent problem areas in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era was the right wing, with the club seemingly after players to fill the hole every season.

In Jadon Sancho, they looked to have filled it. Starring for Borussia Dortmund - albeit playing on both wings - Sancho was signed in 2021 when Dortmund reduced the asking price from 12 months prior, but two underwhelming seasons and a falling-out with manager Erik ten Hag resulted in Sancho moving back to Dortmund on loan before signing for Chelsea in the summer of 2024.

10= - Darwin Nunez - €85m (Benfica to Liverpool)

With the legendary trio of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino being dismantled, Liverpool had attacking spaces to fill in their side, and Darwin Nunez was tasked with one of them, moving from Benfica after hitting a whopping 26 goals in 28 games.

While there's no denying the Uruguayan has enormous potential, he's yet to establish himself as a permanent member of the starting XI under either Jurgen Klopp or Arne Slot.

9 - Harry Maguire - €87m (Leicester City to Manchester United)

After a series of impressive performances for Leicester City saw Harry Maguire become a regular for England, Manchester United made their move for the centre-back. A year after deeming the £70m asking price too steep, United forked out and extra £10m, surpassing Virgil van Dijk as the world's most expensive defender.

Although his first two seasons were quietly impressive, Maguire, like many of his team-mates, struggled in the 2021/22 campaign, going on to lose his place to the partnership of Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez.

8 - Josko Gvardiol - €90m (RB Leipzig to Manchester City)

It may have taken a number of years, but Pep Guardiola eventually realised that defenders who could defend were more important than defenders who could attack, and it's not been uncommon to see Guardiola field four centre-backs across his back-line.

Step forward: Josko Gvardiol. Capable of playing at both centre-back and left-back, the young Croatian moved from RB Leipzig to form a crucial part of Guardiola's defence.

7 - Antony - €95m (Ajax to Manchester United)

With the Jadon Sancho move not working out, Manchester United were back in the market for a left-footed right-winger. Having previously worked with the Brazilian at Ajax, Erik ten Hag sanctioned a move to bring Antony to Old Trafford.

With goals in his first three games against Arsenal, Manchester City and Everton, few fans at that point could've foreseen how the transfer would pan out, with Antony going on to score one goal in 29 appearances in his second season, with a Premier League exit potentially on the cards.

6 - Paul Pogba - €105m (Juventus to Manchester United)

Manchester United's decision to make Paul Pogba the most expensive player in the world, having let him leave their academy for free four years earlier, was certainly eyebrow-raising at the time.

An outrageously talented footballer, Pogba often frustrated fans and pundits alike for being unable to replicate his international form at club level. Indeed, Pogba won the World Cup with France, but only managed a Europa League and EFL Cup with United.

5 - Romelu Lukaku - €113m (Inter to Chelsea)

Romelu Lukaku was the only player to appear on this list twice until three signings in the 2023/24 transfer window shifted him down to 12th. Lukaku actually held the record for the most combined transfer fees prior to Neymar's move to Saudi Arabia, with Manchester United, Inter and Chelsea all forking out huge sums for the Belgian.

His two seasons in Italy saw Lukaku scored 47 goals with Chelsea opting to re-sign the forward at the start of the Todd Boehly era. Lukaku never quite fit into manager Thomas Tuchel's system however, with it being the first time in 10 years that he failed to reach double figures for goals.

Two loan spells to Italy followed before a permanent move to Napoli.

4 - Moises Caicedo - €116m (Brighton to Chelsea)

Another massive-money move as part of the Todd Boehly era saw Moises Caicedo move from Brighton to Chelsea after just one full season in the Premier League.

The Colombian was superb on the south coast for the Seagulls, winning the club's Player of the Year award, though with the significant player turnover as well as two new managers at Stamford Bridge, Caicedo has yet to replicate the form he showed at Brighton.

3 - Declan Rice - €116.6m (West Ham to Arsenal)

No sooner than Declan Rice broke into the West Ham team was he a regular for England. In his seven years with the Hammers, Rice won either Young Player of the Year or Player of the Year six times and a move to a bigger club was inevitable.

Arsenal were that bigger club, with the hope being that Rice could help the club make the next step to the title. Although the Gunners came up short in 2024, Rice was named in the PFA Team of the Year.

2 - Jack Grealish - €117.50m (Aston Villa to Manchester City)

Establishing himself as one of the most exciting young English players in the Premier League with Aston Villa, Jack Grealish eventually outgrew his boyhood club, earning a mega-money move to Manchester City.

Despite being part of the Treble-winning squad of 2023, Grealish has never established himself as a permanent fixture in Pep Guardiola's side, being restricted to 22, 23 and 10 league starts in his three full seasons at the Etihad.

1 - Enzo Fernandez - €121m (Benfica to Chelsea)

The arrival of Todd Boehly at Stamford Bridge marked a new era of extravagant spending that made previous owner Roman Abramovich look comparatively tight-fisted.

After a number of high-profile summer signings, Chelsea went big again in the winter, with Enzo Fernandez breaking the Premier League transfer record following his move from Benfica.

All transfers in Euros. Source: Transfermarkt.co.uk