Okay, we all know there was a lot of money spent during the 2018 summer transfer window. But was it money well spent?
The latest analysis released by the International Centre for Sports Studies – CIES Football Observatory, suggests plenty of the biggest transfers this summer saw Premier League clubs overspend.
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In the list below we see the top 25 transfers with regards to the transfer fee being below the players’ market value, while there is also a list of the 25 transfers where clubs paid over the odds for their new player.
Some key takeaways include Real Madrid paying $26 million less than they should have for Thibaut Courtois, plus Liverpool paying a combined $41.2 million for Fabinho, Xherdan Shaqiri and Alisson Becker compared to the market value. Chelsea’s $92.8 million deal to sign Kepa Arrizabalaga was the largest overspend compared to a ‘fair price’ of $41 million. Hence, the Blues overpaid by $51 million for Kepa and got $26 million less for Courtois than they should have. A $77 million loss on the deal to bring in a new goalkeeper overall. Ouch.
Liverpool did pretty well when it came to selling players this summer, as Danny Ings‘ transfer to Southampton brought in an extra $17.1 million for the Reds over the fair price for the England striker. Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Juventus from Real Madrid was said to be a bit of a bargain as he was undervalued $13.3 million, while Manchester City supposedly overpaid by $32.5 million for Riyad Mahrez.
Unsurprisingly, 14 of the top 25 overpriced transfers involved PL clubs with Everton said to have overspent by $37.1 million on Richarlison and Yerry Mina over the summer. Bournemouth were also said to have overspent by $26.4 million, West Ham by $24 million, and Leicester by $18.8 million.
This is a very intriguing way to look at the transfer fees and see which clubs spent well and where certain teams overspent. Of course, this is all relative and when it comes to the likes of Ings, his injury record may have reduced his transfer fee but if he stays fit then his price could rise rapidly. Kepa’s release clause was also set high but Chelsea decided to let Courtois move on and received a smaller fee for his service due to his contract only having one year remaining.
