Enzo Fernandez’s £125m (approximately Sh22 billion) Manchester City switch headlines a chaotic deadline day as Premier League clubs unleash unprecedented spending spree
The Premier League has once again rewritten the record books.
The 2026 summer transfer window has closed after a spectacular spending spree that saw England’s top-flight clubs blow past the previous record of £3.14 billion (approximately Sh550 billion)
From record-breaking purchases to eye-watering nine-figure deals and frantic deadline-day negotiations, Premier League clubs showed few signs of financial restraint.
And the final hours of the window delivered a fitting finale.
Manchester City stole the spotlight by completing a stunning £125 million move for Enzo Fernandez from Chelsea. The Argentina midfielder became one of the biggest deals of the summer as Pep Guardiola’s side strengthened an already formidable squad.
City did not stop there.
Iliman Ndiaye also made the move to the Etihad, with Everton receiving £65 million (approximately 11 billion) for the forward. The Toffees quickly reinvested some of that business by bringing Jack Grealish back from Manchester City on loan.
Tottenham were equally busy, adding Chelsea winger Mykhaylo Mudryk on loan as they continued their aggressive recruitment drive.
Balogun deal collapses after dramatic twist
One of the most bizarre stories of deadline day involved Folarin Balogun.
The forward had arrived on Merseyside as Everton prepared to complete a £40 million transfer from Monaco. However, the move ultimately fell apart, with Balogun changing his mind after the deadline had passed.
The collapse had a knock-on effect elsewhere.
Chelsea had been pursuing Monaco midfielder Lamine Camara and had reached an agreement with the French club. But as the 11pm deadline approached, Monaco withdrew from the deal.
Chelsea were left furious after seeing their own transfer plans collapse at the last moment.
There was also a remarkable twist involving Fernandez.
Chelsea had the option of pulling the plug on their £125 million agreement to sell the midfielder to Manchester City. Despite the chaos surrounding other deals, however, the Blues chose to honour the agreement.
Deadline day delivers a transfer avalanche
The final day produced a remarkable list of moves, with clubs scrambling to complete business before the clock ran out.
Among the biggest transfers were:
Enzo Fernandez: Chelsea → Manchester City — £125m
Iliman Ndiaye: Everton → Manchester City — £65m
Matias Fernandez-Pardo: Lille → Newcastle — £51m
Ibrahim Mbaye: Paris Saint-Germain → Aston Villa — £47m
Malick Fofana: Lyon → Sunderland — £31m
Taylor Harwood-Bellis: Southampton → Aston Villa — £30m
Lucca Brughmans: Genk → Liverpool — £30m, before returning to Genk on loan
Hugo Larsson: Eintracht Frankfurt → Fulham — £21m
Ilyas Ansah: Union Berlin → Hull City — £21m
Zian Flemming: Burnley → Ipswich — £20m
Chema Andres: Eintracht Frankfurt → Brighton — £15m
Beto: Everton → Fiorentina — £15.4m
Marc Guiu: Chelsea → RB Leipzig — £14.6m
Tosin Adarabioyo: Chelsea → Tottenham — £10m
Gabriel Jesus: Arsenal → Barcelona — £8.6m
David Affengruber: Elche → Fulham — £8.5m
Fabio Vieira: Arsenal → Hamburg — £7.7m
Juan Riquelme Angulo: Independiente → Sunderland — £5m
Ainsley Maitland-Niles: Lyon → Everton — £4m
Manuel Angel: Real Madrid → Fulham — £3m
There were also a host of loan deals, including Ethan Nwaneri’s move from Arsenal to Borussia Dortmund, Pape Matar Sarr’s switch from Tottenham to Juventus and Harvey Elliott’s move from Liverpool to Valencia.
Robert Sanchez left Chelsea for Como on loan, while Kevin Danso moved from Tottenham to Sunderland temporarily.
What makes this summer particularly striking is the sheer number of clubs prepared to spend heavily.
The transfer market has increasingly become a defining feature of the Premier League’s global dominance, and the 2026 window provided another spectacular example.
