Premier League clubs have put the brakes on spending during this month’s transfer window with the final sum expected to be less than a third of last year’s record total.
Top-flight teams have prioritised loan deals, often with an option to buy in the summer, rather than permanent signings as club executives shy away from what one has described as being asked to pay “crazy money” for players. Another executive described it as one of the quietest transfer windows he has experienced in his 15 years in football.
The transfer window, which closes at 11pm today, was introduced for the 2002-03 season in an attempt to increase stability and regulate the movement of players between clubs. The total spent up to deadline day this year
