The Premier League is arguably the richest league in world football, with an incredible amount of money splashed every transfer window, and not just by the big clubs. The likes of Leeds United and Aston Villa also have the spending power to reach the £100 million mark for their summer totals, occasionally even outspending some of the top six.
With every expensive arrival, the value of a Premier League side’s squad naturally increases. And, with that increase should come the expectation of hitting certain goals, whether that be avoiding the drop, achieving top four, or winning the title.
As you’ll see below, however, money doesn’t necessarily mean success. A squad’s value, on paper, may be in the top six. But, as soon as that same squad touches the hallowed turf of Premier League grounds, they can find themselves closer to the bottom six than the top dogs.
With that said, we’ve ranked every Premier League squad by their transfer value, via TransferMarkt.
20) AFC Bournemouth – £201.9 million
Bournemouth prop up the table, following their promotion from the Championship.
They have spent big in an attempt to keep themselves afloat in the top-flight but it’s not been enough to push them towards the top end of the table.
Still, we can’t expect them to be much higher, given the sheer level of investment from the top clubs in the league.
If the Cherries do stay up, expect their value to rise.
19) Fulham – £219 million
The Cottagers are flying high.
Managed by Marco Silva, the club invested heavily after promotion and are now reaping the rewards.
They have been so good, there is even talk of Fulham qualifying for European competition.
It’s a far cry from their previous relegation battles in the Premier League.
18) Leeds United – £263.1 million
Leeds being so low on this list may well be a surprise.
The club have continually invested into the playing squad in a bid to remain in the Premier League.
They even signed a new striker in January, by the name of Georginio Rutter, but they remain in the bottom three when it comes to their valuation.
Another few seasons in the Premier League will see that climb.
17) Brentford – £272.1 million
This really is an amazing stat.
Brentford look comfortable in the top half and only need six more points, at the time of writing, to hit the magical 40-point mark that is said to all but guarantee survival.
Brentford operate on a shoestring budget and are dependent on finding cheap gems, and turning them into stars.
They’re doing a fantastic job of it.
16) Brighton & Hove Albion – £275.2 million
Much like Brentford, Brighton have a superb model that has seen them snap up some hugely talented players on the cheap.
The Seagulls have focused heavily on undervalued players and those who have the potential to be great.
Just look at at the form of the sensational Kaoru Mitoma, who was signed for a mere £2.7m.
He is living proof of just how good their model is.
15) Crystal Palace – £275.7 million
Palace haven’t actually been that successful this season.
Under the management of Patrick Vieira, they have rather stagnated, and are finding wins harder and harder to come by.
The Eagles remain in mid-table, but they are a little too close to the relegation zone for the liking of the Selhurst Park faithful.
Their money really hasn’t been spent brilliantly.
14) Nottingham Forest – £296.7 million
Ah yes, Forest, they of the trolley dash.
Forest may look set to potentially stave off the threat of relegation but they have had to spend some money to do it.
Per Goal, the club have signed no fewer than 29 players this season.
That is a truly staggering number, and it explains why they are valued higher than some clubs that would be considered their rivals.
13) Everton – £328.3 million
Everton have had to cut costs in recent months and that perhaps explains why they are in the bottom half of this list.
The club did spend money on the likes of Dwight McNeil and Amadou Onana, but that was only facilitated by the £50m sale of Richarlison to Tottenham.
It has left them with a squad that has been struggling, and they had to dispense with Frank Lampard, such was their fear of relegation.
Now managed by Sean Dyche, they will be aiming to climb clear of the drop zone.
12) Southampton – £345.6 million
Saints have not spent well at all.
Having appointed Nathan Jones as their manager in an ill-judged hiring, the club are firmly staring down the barrel of relegation.
Buys like Gavin Bazunu and Sekou Mara haven’t worked out so far, and while their values suggest they should be in mid-table, they are wildly underperforming.
11) Wolverhampton Wanderers – £351.1 million
Wolves are very similar to Saints in how much they are struggling this season.
The club have parachuted Julen Lopetegui in to rescue them from their dire form at the start of the season, despite a decent summer spend.
Their headline acquisition was the £38m signing of Matheus Nunes, and that may explain why they are so close to the top half of this table.
10) Aston Villa – £397.6 million
Villa, under Steven Gerrard, spent big in the summer.
They secured Philippe Coutinho permanently and also pulled off a major coup in bringing in Diego Carlos from Sevilla.
But bad luck has struck, including a horror injury to Carlos that has seen him consigned to the treatment room.
Gerrard, of course, was eventually sacked, and Unai Emery is now in the dugout.
9) Leicester City – £406 million
The Foxes have invested rather shrewdly in recent years and it explains why they sit amongst the top 10 in this list.
They didn’t exactly set the world alight with their deals in the summer, as their main signing was the acquisition of defender Wout Faes.
The club are having a completely unremarkable season, and look nailed on for a mid-table finish under Brendan Rodgers.
8) West Ham United – £420.6 million
Something went wrong at the Hammers in the summer.
A huge spend on the likes of Lucas Paqueta, Nayef Aguerd, and Gianluca Scamacca has not exactly reaped rewards.
The Irons are continuing to look over their shoulder at the drop zone, and relegation does remain a possibility.
For a club with so many excellent players – Declan Rice alone may account for £100m of this figure – that just isn’t good enough.
7) Newcastle United – £423.2 million
Newcastle are going to keep climbing this list.
Now backed by the moneybags PIF, the Magpies bought the likes of Sven Botman, Alexander Isak, and Nick Pope in the summer.
They are now looking at Champions League qualification, and also spent big on Anthony Gordon in the January window.
The longer PIF runs the show, the higher on this list the Magpies will fly to.
6) Tottenham Hotspur – £634.4 million
Spurs have some truly valuable players at the club, including the likes of Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son.
And manager Antonio Conte was backed with some exceptional new arrivals in the summer.
The likes of Richarlison, Yves Bissouma, and Pedro Porro have come through the doors in the last two transfer windows, inflating their value.
It remains to be seen if they can qualify for the Champions League, though.
5) Manchester United – £677.1 million
United are always going to be near the top of lists like these, but it’s telling how far off the top two they are now.
United have continued to splash the cash, though, spending huge sums on the likes of Antony and Casemiro in recent windows.
They also have the new manager in Erik Ten Hag, and look set for a return to Europe’s top table by qualifying for the Champions League.
Add in the excellent players they already have – Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho et al – and you’ve got a very valuable squad.
4) Arsenal – £716.5 million
Arsenal are climbing on this list.
They are now firmly backing Mikel Arteta in what has become an unlikely title fight with Manchester City.
Players such as Gabriel Jesus, Oleksandr Zinchenko, and Leandro Trossard have been signed in recent windows to further bulk up their squad.
They’re likely to keep moving up if they continue splashing the cash.
3) Liverpool – £830.3 million
The Reds have some of the most valuable players in the league without spending big.
Players like Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Alisson Becker are all elite, with huge asking prices attached.
They have also secured the signings of young talents Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo, increasing their valuation still further.
It’s fair to say, then, that they are underperforming this season.
2) Chelsea – £927.3 million
Now backed by the immense spending power of Todd Boehly’s consortium, Chelsea have been throwing around ridiculous sums of money.
They have signed 20 players across the last two transfer windows and finished with a flourish, acquiring Enzo Fernandez from Benfica for over £100m, making him the most expensive player in British football history.
As a result, the squad is one of the highest-valued in the world, let alone the Premier League, and if Boehly keeps spending, this number is likely to exceed one billion pounds.
1) Manchester City – £936.2 million
Yeah, this makes sense.
City have the likes of Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne, Ederson, and Bernardo Silva.
They always have one of the biggest budgets in the league, and should, really, consistently be topping the Premier League table.
As it stands, they are in a tug-of-war with Arsenal; their spending power suggests City will be the ones holding the trophy come May.
