Numerous club transfer records fell in the Premier League over the 2026 summer transfer window.
Manchester City broke their record twice, first in signing Elliot Anderson for £116million before adding Enzo Fernandez for £125m. The latter also saw the Citizens equal the British transfer record, matching the fee Liverpool paid to sign Alexander Isak.
Aston Villa, Brighton and Hove Albion, Chelsea, Coventry City, Hull City, Ipswich Town, Leeds United, Nottingham Forest, Sunderland and Tottenham Hotspur also broke their transfer records over the summer.
In the past, some of the club-record deals have been more than worth the money. Others have been a complete waste of time and resources.
So who is the record signing at every Premier League club? We’ve listed them below and labelled each HIT or MISS, for those that can be assessed.
Arsenal – Declan Rice
- Fee: £100m
- Bought from: West Ham
- Verdict: HIT
Arsenal‘s signing of Declan Rice in July 2023 will surely go down as one of their best in modern history. Even with the £100m price tag. The midfielder helped transform the Guners into genuine title challengers and eventually winners, finally getting his hands on silverware in 2025/26. He was voted as the club’s Player of the Season in 2024/25 and 2025/26, the latter for his role in Arsenal winning the Premier League and reaching the Champions League final.
Aston Villa – Johan Manzambi
- Fee: £51m
- Bought from: Freiburg
- Verdict: N/A
Obviously, we’re not going to assess a player who has only signed for the club. But Johan Manzambi arrived at Aston Villa with a lot of promise after a good World Cup with Switzerland. Villa will need him to hit the ground running, given the changes their squad have undergone over the summer.
Bournemouth – Evanilson
- Fee: £40.2m
- Bought from: Porto
- Verdict: MISS
Evanilson scored 10 league goals in his first season at Bournemouth, a decent enough return on his Premier League debut. But he really hasn’t kicked on. The Brazilian has 18 goals in 74 games for Bournemouth across all competitions, which just isn’t good enough for a striker brought in on a club-record fee. Last season he scored just six goals in 36 league games.
Brentford – Dango Outtarra
- Fee: £42.5m
- Bought from: Bournemouth
- Verdict: Jury is (still) out
The £42.5m fee that Brentford paid Bournemouth to acquire Dango Outtarra in the summer of 2025 raised a few eyebrows. But the 24-year-old turned in a handful of fine performances to help the Bees perform above expectations. However, consistency is lacking with seven goals and three assists in the league last season. He did win also win five penalties, though. This will be a crucial season.
Brighton – Luka Vuskovic
- Fee: £46m
- Bought from: Tottenham
- Verdict: N/A
Brighton essentially swapped centre-backs with Tottenham in the summer — though transfer fees were exchanged. The Seagulls sold Jan Paul van Hecke to Spurs, and signed Luka Vuskovic for £46m in return. Vuskovic is a promising young centre-back and set for a bright future, so this could look like a steal.
Chelsea – Morgan Rogers
- Fee: £117m
- Bought from: Aston Villa
- Verdict: N/A
Another new arrival, Morgan Rogers replaced Enzo Fernandez as Chelsea’s record signing after his £117m move from Aston Villa. The Englishman has started brightly, but there’s still a long way to go for a verdict to be fair.
Coventry – Caleb Yirenkyi
- Fee: £23m
- Bought from: Nordsjaelland
- Verdict: N/A
Coventry returned to the Premier League with intent, breaking their transfer record three times in the 2026 summer window. The first was Loum Tchaouna, who joined for £20m — the first time Coventry had breached that number. That record lasted 24 days, with Carl Rushworth joining from Brighton and Hove Albion for £22.5m. One day later, though, Caleb Yirenkyi joined from Nordsjaelland for £23m. Coventry now have six transfer fees higher than their record going into the summer, which was the £7.7m paid for Haji Wright in 2023.
Crystal Palace – Jorgen Strand Larsen
- Fee: £48m
- Bought from: Wolves
- Verdict: MISS
Jorgen Strand Larsen only joined Crystal Palace from Wolverhampton Wanderers in the January transfer window, but it feels like a verdict can already be made. The Eagles paid £48m for the Norwegian striker who has returned four goals in 24 games, failing to really get going. There is still time for this to change, though.
Everton – Gylfi Sigurdsson
- Fee: £45m
- Bought from: Swansea City
- Verdict: MISS
The Icelandic international never really justified his bumper price tag during four seasons at Goodison Park, in which Everton just hovered around mid table. It’s been a long time since the Toffees were willing to part with such a big transfer fee.
Fulham – Kevin
- Fee: £34.6m
- Bought from: Marseille
- Verdict: MISS
There’s plenty of time for Kevin to turn this verdict around given that he’s just 23 and has only been a Premier League player for a short time. But he’s yet to really justify the £34.6m price tag since arriving at Fulham from Shakhtar Donetsk.
Hull – Nobel Mendy & Konstantinos Tzolakis
- Fee: £20m
- Bought from: Rayo Vallecano (Mendy) & Olympiacos (Tzolakis)
- Verdict: N/A
Hull hit the £20m mark for the first and second time in the summer transfer window. The first came in signing goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis from Olympiacos to be their first-choice shot-stopper. A week later, Nobel Mendy arrived from Rayo Vallecano to bolster the defensive setup. They’ve both started well but it is still too soon to judge.
Ipswich – Julio Enciso
- Fee: £26m
- Bought from: Strasbourg
- Verdict: N/A
Ipswich were another team to break their transfer record on more than one occasion this summer. Emersonn was the first player signed for over £20m, joining from Toulouse for £24m early in the window. But his fee has since been pipped by Julio Enciso. The Paraguayan marked his return to Ipswich with a £26.1m move from Strasbourg, having previously featured on loan at Portman Road.
Leeds – James Trafford
- Fee: £40.5m
- Bought from: Leeds
- Verdict: N/A
Leeds have gone big in order to maintain their Premier League status, signing goalkeeper James Trafford for £40.5m. It’s a bold move but one that looks promising, given the high ceiling of the Englishman. This is one that should work out for club, player and country, though we’ll have to wait and see.
Liverpool – Alexander Isak
- Fee: £125m
- Bought from: Newcastle
- Verdict: Jury’s (still) out
It would be tempting to dismiss Alexander Isak’s joint-British record transfer fee move to Liverpool as a miss already given the size of the fee. However, the Swedish striker has suffered from injuries and with the quality he showed during his time at Newcastle United, it would be unwise to dismiss him so soon. But he needs to step up very quickly.
Man City – Enzo Fernandez
- Fee: £125m
- Bought from: Chelsea
- Verdict: N/A
Enzo Fernandez started the summer as Chelsea’s record signing (before losing that title). He ended it as Man City’s most-expensive arrival. The Argentina international’s £125m move is also the joint-British record alongside Isak, and there will be high expections for Fernandez to hit the ground running.
Man Utd – Paul Pogba
- Fee: £89m
- Bought from: Juventus
- Verdict: MISS
Paul Pogba endured a turbulent second spell at Manchester United. He showed flashes of genuine world-class midfield play and turned in some match-winning performances. But for the fee couriered to Turin for his signature, he never really justified the price tag. Too many inconsistent displays and injury issues ultimately proved his downfall before he left to return to Juve.
Newcastle – Alexander Isak
- Fee: £63m
- Bought from: Real Sociedad
- Verdict: HIT
Alexander Isak was a genuine world class talent during his time at Newcastle and although his relationship with the club ended on a sour note, the Magpies were able to bring in a huge transfer fee in relation to his sale to Liverpool. He left St James’ Park having scored 62 times in 109 appearances in all competitions.
Nottingham Forest – Liam Delap
- Fee: £45m
- Bought from: Chelsea
- Verdict: N/A
It’s another new era at Nottingham Forest with Oliver Glasner in charge. The Tricky Trees struggled for a goalscoring strker last season and have looked to Liam Delap to solve that problem. Delap did not have the best campaign at Chelsea but was deemed worth £45m for his move to the City Ground. He’ll be hoping to make a big impact, and quickly.
Sunderland – Malick Fofana
- Fee: £31m
- Bought from: Lyon
- Verdict: N/A
There was late drama in the summer transfer window as Crystal Palace looked to hijack Sunderland’s deal for Malick Fofana. But the French winger did seal his move to the Stadium of Light for a club-record £31m. It only just beat the £30m Sunderland paid for Habib Diarra, who will be thankful to see that attention leave him.
Tottenham – Sandro Tonali
- Fee: £92.5m
- Bought from: Newcastle
- Verdict: N/A
Tottenham broke their transfer record twice this summer in their quest to put relegation battles behind them. Mateus Fernandes was the first record-breaking arrival, joining from West Ham United for £85m. But not long after, Sandro Tonali joined from Newcastle for £92.5m, putting former record holder Tanguy Ndombele deeper into history. Both players will need to perform very quickly.