Every £20m+ sale ever made by a Premier League club
Current Premier League clubs have made 190 signings for £20m or more. They have made 93 sales at the same value, because they are inherently less exciting but still entirely necessary. Chelsea dominate this list…
Brighton – 0
The Seagulls are yet to get off the board but they will when Ben White completes his move to Arsenal. Yves Bissouma could make it two in the same summer.
Wolves – 1
Diogo Jota – £45m (to Liverpool in September 2020)
Ruben Neves could find himself joining his Portugal team-mate on this list before the summer is out.
Burnley – 1
Michael Keane – £25m (to Everton in July 2017)
Dwight McNeil will keep Keane company here if Rafa Benitez gets his way.
Leeds – 1
Rio Ferdinand – £30m (to Manchester United in July 2002)
Crystal Palace – 2
Yannick Bolasie – £25m (to Everton in August 2016)
Aaron Wan-Bissaka – £45m (to Manchester United in July 2019)
Wilfried Zaha has tried his very best to join Bolasie and Wan-Bissaka here. Not happening, Wilf.
Watford – 3
Odion Ighalo – £20m (to Changchun Yatai in January 2017)
Richarlison – £40m (to Everton in July 2018)
Abdoulaye Doucoure – £20m (to Everton in September 2020)
Everton must have thought Watford were doing something right since they drained them of their manager too in 2018.
Brentford – 3
Neal Maupay – £20m (to Brighton in August 2019)
Ollie Watkins – £28m (to Aston Villa in September 2020)
Said Benrahma – £25m (to West Ham in January 2021)
Brentford are astonishingly good at this. On this trio, they made a profit of around £67m.
Norwich – 3
James Maddison – £20m (to Leicester in June 2018)
Ben Godfrey – £25m (to Everton in October 2020)
Emi Buendia – £35m (to Aston Villa in June 2021)
The Canaries turned over an even bigger profit from their three big sales – around £74million in total for lads signed from Coventry, York and Getafe respectively.
West Ham – 3
Dimitri Payet – £25m (to Marseille in January 2017)
Marko Arnautovic – £22m (to Shanghai SIPG in July 2019)
Sebastien Haller – £20.2m (to Ajax in January 2021)
All three caused West Ham problems. Payet and Arnautovic by being naughty. Haller because he wasn’t very good. Obviously he caught on fire as soon as he arrived at Ajax; Haller has had a hand in three more goals despite having played 31 fewer matches.
Aston Villa – 3
James Milner – £26m (to Manchester City in August 2010)
Stewart Downing – £20m (to Liverpool in July 2011)
Christian Benteke – £32.5m (to Liverpool in July 2015)
Add those fees together and it still wouldn’t be enough to get you a Jack Grealish.
Leicester – 5
N’Golo Kante – £30m (to Chelsea in July 2016)
Danny Drinkwater – £34m (to Chelsea in August 2017)
Riyad Mahrez – £60m (to Manchester City in July 2018)
Harry Maguire – £85m (to Manchester United in August 2019)
Ben Chilwell – £50m (to Chelsea in August 2020)
That is both saucy and sorcery. James Maddison might become the sixth name but Leicester’s previous transfer magic means they are under no great pressure to sell their biggest assets.
Manchester United – 5
David Beckham – £24.5m (to Real Madrid in June 2003)
Cristiano Ronaldo – £80m (to Real Madrid in June 2009)
Angel di Maria – £44.3m (to PSG in August 2015)
Morgan Schneiderlin – £20m (to Everton in January 2017)
Romelu Lukaku – £74m (to Inter Milan in August 2019)
They just don’t sell all that well. Nor, for most of the last eight years, have they bought all that well. Jadon Sancho, Rapahel Varane and a midfielder might help to remedy that.
Every £20m+ signing ever made by a Premier League club
Newcastle – 5
Andy Carroll – £35m (to Liverpool in January 2011)
Georginio Wijnaldum – £25m (to Liverpool in July 2016)
Moussa Sissoko – £30m (to Tottenham in September 2016)
Aleksandar Mitrovic – £22m (to Fulham in July 2018)
Ayoze Perez – £30m (to Leicester in July 2019)
An eclectic list of buying clubs and an industrious five-a-side team who are a little too familiar with their elbows. Lovely.
Tottenham – 5
Dimitar Berbatov – £30.75m (to Manchester United in September 2008)
Luka Modric – £30m (to Real Madrid in August 2012)
Gareth Bale – £86.3m (to Real Madrid in August 2013)
Kyle Walker – £50m (to Manchester City in July 2017)
Kieran Trippier – £20m (to Atletico Madrid in July 2019)
Negotiating with Daniel Levy is “more painful” than a hip replacement after all, so you’d better make sure you’re certain first. Harry Kane next?
Everton – 6
Wayne Rooney – £27m (to Manchester United in September 2004)
Joleon Lescott – £22m (to Manchester City in August 2009)
Marouane Fellaini – £27.5m (to Manchester United in September 2013)
John Stones – £47.5m (to Manchester City in August 2016)
Romelu Lukaku – £75m (to Manchester United in July 2017)
Idrissa Gueye – £29m (to PSG in July 2019)
Ruining that beautiful pattern might be damn near the worst thing PSG have ever done, aside from becoming a state-owned front for aggressive sportswashing. Everton might forgive them if they get their money back for Moise Kean.
Manchester City – 6
Shaun Wright-Phillips – £21m (to Chelsea in July 2005)
Mario Balotelli – £22m (to AC Milan in January 2013)
Alvaro Negredo – £23.8m (to Valencia in July 2015)
Kelechi Iheanacho – £24m (to Leicester City in August 2017)
Danilo – £34.2m (to Juventus in August 2019)
Leroy Sane – £40.9m (to Bayern Munich in July 2020)
Manchester City have signed 35 players for £20m or more. They have not translated that too well to the other side of the transfer coin, not that they particularly need to.
Southampton – 6
Luke Shaw – £27m (to Manchester United in June 2014)
Adam Lallana – £25m (to Liverpool in July 2014)
Dejan Lovren – £20m (to Liverpool in July 2014)
Morgan Schneiderlin – £25m (to Manchester United in July 2015)
Sadio Mane – £34m (to Liverpool in June 2016)
Virgil van Dijk – £75m (to Liverpool in January 2018)
They really were the kings of this at one point, until Claude Puel, Mauricio Pellegrino and Mark Hughes put the conveyor belt out of commission. Danny Ings is itching to get it going again. Selling him to Man Utd would keep the pattern going…
Liverpool – 9
Xabi Alonso – £30m (to Real Madrid in August 2009)
Fernando Torres – £50m (to Chelsea in January 2011)
Luis Suarez – £65m (to Barcelona in July 2014)
Raheem Sterling – £49m (to Manchester City in July 2015)
Christian Benteke – £27m (to Crystal Palace in August 2016)
Mamadou Sakho – £26m (to Crystal Palace in August 2017)
Philippe Coutinho – £142m (to Barcelona in January 2018)
Danny Ings – £20m (to Southampton in July 2019)
Rhian Brewster – £23.5million (to Sheffield United in October 2020)
Liverpool signed this lot for £129m and sold them on for £432.5m. That’s what laptops and air-conditioned offices get you.
Arsenal – 10
Nicolas Anelka – £22.3m (to Real Madrid in August 1999)
Marc Overmars – £25m (to Barcelona in July 2000)
Emmanuel Adebayor – £25m (to Manchester City in July 2009)
Cesc Fabregas – £25.4m (to Barcelona in August 2011)
Samir Nasri – £25m (to Manchester City in August 2011)
Robin van Persie – £24m (to Manchester United in August 2012)
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – £35m (to Liverpool in August 2017)
Theo Walcott – £20m (to Everton in January 2018)
Alex Iwobi – £35m (to Everton in August 2019)
Emiliano Martinez – £20m (to Aston Villa in September 2020)
Mikel Arteta may be regretting that last one now he has to spend £32million just to sign England’s fifth-choice keeper.
Chelsea – 15
Arjen Robben – £24m (to Real Madrid in August 2007)
Juan Mata – £37.1m (to Manchester United in January 2014)
David Luiz – £40m (to PSG in June 2014)
Romelu Lukaku – £28m (to Everton in July 2014)
Andre Schurrle – £22m (to Wolfsburg in January 2015)
Ramires – £25m (to Jiangsu Suning in January 2016)
Oscar – £52m (to Shanghai SIPG in January 2017)
Nathan Ake – £20m (to Bournemouth in June 2017)
Nemanja Matic – £40m (to Manchester United in August 2017)
Diego Costa – £57m (to Atletico Madrid in January 2018)
Thibaut Courtois – £35m (to Real Madrid in August 2018)
Eden Hazard – £88.5m (to Real Madrid in June 2019)
Alvaro Morata – £58.3m (to Atletico Madrid in July 2019)
Fikayo Tomori – £25m (to AC Milan in June 2021)
Marc Guehi – £20m (to Crystal Palace in July 2021)
Chelsea’s last two £20m-plus sales had 17 Premier League appearances between them. All of them Tomori’s. They are very good at selling.