Premier League transfers: Are Big Six clubs raiding their rivals?

27.07.2026, 10:58 skysports.com

What do Elliot Anderson, Morgan Rogers and Sandro Tonali have in common?

All three made moves for £100m or more this summer - but they also follow a growing trend where 'Big Six' clubs - defined as Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea and Spurs - sign players from their non-Big Six Premier League rivals.

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So, how much are the league's powerhouse clubs spending on players from other teams in the top flight?

Since summer 2016, Big Six clubs have spent £2.8bn on players from non-Big Six Premier League rivals. The trend has accelerated sharply: £647m last season was the highest in history, and the total already stands at £420m this summer.

Premier League clubs are increasingly buying from within the league. The total spend on intra-Premier League signings reached £1.29bn last season - the highest ever by a wide margin.

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Why? Clubs are increasingly looking to recruit tried-and-tested players for minimal risk, but that security now comes at an increasingly high price.

A fairer comparison is to look at the proportion of money spent on players already plying their trade in the division.

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That share reached a record-low 14 per cent in 2018/19, with the majority of teams splashing cash on overseas talent - but that has generally trended upwards since then and currently stands at 41 per cent this summer to date.

Chelsea are the Premier League hub for transfers, spending a staggering £862m on players from other Premier League clubs since 2016. The majority of that has been spent since the BlueCo takeover in 2022.

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The biggest intra-Premier League corridor remains Brighton to Chelsea, with deals totalling £263m since the summer of 2016.

Chelsea have also signed £222m of players from Leicester and £156m from Aston Villa, with Alejandro Garnacho moving the other way on loan this summer.

But the Big Six also offload heavily to other Premier League clubs. Chelsea are in a league of their own when it comes to spending (£862m) and selling (£683m) to their league rivals since 2016/17.

One thing is clear: the top end of the transfer market continues to accelerate, with the average top-end signing now costing £68m.

Six of the top 10 deals so far this summer are intra-Premier League deals, excluding Mateus Fernandes' £85m move from relegated West Ham to Spurs.

Indeed, Spurs have been the biggest-spending club in the window so far with £237m spent, followed by Chelsea (£203.5m) and Manchester City (£129m).

In the Squad Cost Ratio (SCR) era, Big Six clubs increasingly appear to believe Premier League players offer lower recruitment risk - while giving the league's other clubs one of the quickest routes to financial headroom.

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The direction of travel is clear: more Premier League money is staying inside the league, and the Big Six are increasingly finding their next signings closer to home.

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