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After several shock moves, high-profile signings and an endless suspense, the 2020 summer transfer window finally came to an end on October 5. The Premier League, much like it is the case almost every year, topped the spending charts as the 20 top-flight clubs cumulatively spent a whopping £1.24b this summer.
Many clubs oversaw successful windows during which they strengthened several problematic areas in their squad as well as got rid of their deadwood. Clubs like Chelsea, for instance, went into the window with power and purpose as they roped in as many as seven players as part of Frank Lampard's impressive project at Stamford Bridge.
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On the other hand, their top-four rivals Manchester United endured a disappointing window in stark contrast to the Blues. This is despite their deadline day spree, during which they announced four signings. The Red Devils failed to address critical areas in the squad to build on their third-place finish from last year.
On that note, here, we take a look at the five clubs with the highest net spend in the 2020 summer transfer window.
*Disclaimer: All figures have been sourced from Sky Sports.*
#5 Arsenal | Net spend: £64.5m
Mikel Arteta's Arsenal were in danger of having a stale summer window right up until the very last day when they signed their only marquee player of the year. With just a few hours left on the clock, the Gunners triggered Thomas Partey's €50m/£45m release clause and prised him away from Atletico Madrid.
The Ghanian's signing has ensured that Arsenal have had a successful window as they've addressed up to three key first XI spots in their side with Partey, Willian, and Gabriel Magalhaes for £27m.
As for the departures, Arsenal did manage to get rid of a number of players including Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Matteo Guendouzi, Lucas Torreira, and others. However, while most of them were either loans or free transfers, only Emi Martinez's move to Aston Villa fetched them a considerable transfer fee of £17m.
#4 Manchester City | Net spend: £76.5m
Manchester City were tipped to have an explosive transfer window after relinquishing their English crown to Liverpool by a record tally of 18 points. The Cityzens noticeably struggled at the back due to Aymeric Laporte's injuries, and Leroy Sane was unavailable as well.
They tried to fix those issues with the purchases of Nathan Ake and Ferran Torres earlier on in the window for £41m and £20.8m respectively. Later on into the window, after a lot of speculation regarding their options at centre-back, Pep Guardiola finally got his marquee defensive signing in Ruben Dias of SL Benfica for a staggering £65m.
They had no noteworthy departures except for that of Sane, who moved to Bayern Munich after a relatively successful spell in Manchester. His £54.8m departure along with Nico Otamendi's £13.7m sale allowed City to recoup nearly half of their summer spend.
#3 Leeds United | Net spend: £84.5m
After an absence of 16 years in the top-flight of English football, Leeds United made a historic return to the Premier League after winning the Championship. Marcelo Bielsa's side went into the summer window like a club with great purpose and strengthened their squad substantially.
Leeds broke their transfer record to seal the signature of Spain international Rodrigo Moreno for £27m. They also made other impressive big-name signings such as Diego Llorente from Real Sociedad for £20m and, more recently, Brazilian attacker Rafinha from Rennes for £17m.
Although they did not oversee any noteworthy departures, Bielsa's side made several astute acquisitions in the market to cap off a commendable window. They also made Helder Costa's loan move from Wolves permanent, and the winger has been impressive upon their Premier League return.
#2 Aston Villa | Net spend: £85m
A relatively surprising name at such a high spot on this list, last season's relegation battlers Aston Villa conducted some very impressive business in the window this summer. Dean Smith's men saw a huge spend even during the summer before, but several of those signings failed to leave a good account of themselves at Villa Park.
Heading into their second straight year in the top-flight, Villa opted for quality over quantity and despite having spent big, they only made four major signings in the window.
They purchased English defender Matty Cash (£16m) from Nottingham Forest, keeper Emi Martinez (£17m) from Arsenal, Olympique Lyon attacker Bertrand Traore (£19m) and broke their club transfer record for Championship hero Ollie Watkins, who arrived for £33m from Brentford. Additionally, they also sealed the services of Ross Barkley on a season-long loan.
#1 Chelsea | Net spend: £212.6m
Who else but Chelsea were expected to top this list? The Blues recorded one of the most stunning transfer windows in football history after making up to seven additions in the summer. Lampard's men were forced to remain quiet on the recruitment front after they got into trouble with FFP (Financial Fair Play) regulations.
However, they marked their return to the market in an explosive fashion as they addressed several key positions in their squad and gifted Lampard with an abundance of attacking options.
Edouard Mendy (£22m), Hakim Ziyech (£33.3m), Timo Werner (£45m), Ben Chilwell (£50m), and arguably their most high-profile signing since Eden Hazard back in 2012 — Kai Havertz (£75.8m) of Bayer Leverkusen — all arrived at the club for a combined total of over £200m. Additionally, they also signed PSG veteran Thiago Silva and Malang Sarr on free transfers to bolster their defensive options.
Chelsea have had exciting transfer windows in the past, but even by their standards, the summer of 2020 has been a monumental one for the Blues.
Also read: 10 Biggest Ballon d'Or wins in football history
