FINAL DATA: Summer 2026 Transfer Tracker
Image Credit: Christopher Bill
See additional related sources: Summer 2026 Transfer Window: Top Buyers and Sellers
The summer transfer window is a perfect opportunity for football clubs in most leagues across Europe and other continents to re-tool or completely re-build their squads. This transfer window takes place throughout the offseason, except for clubs based in leagues across the Nordic countries — for them, it marks the midway point. As a result, those leagues experience less transfer activity.
That said, while the summer for most people serves as a vacation period with friends and family, for footballers and management personnel it may be the final days living in a city or even in a particular country.
For the second time ever (though first time in summer), we are tracking all transfers that occurred within Europe’s top five leagues:
Bundesliga (Germany);
LaLiga (Spain);
Ligue 1 (France);*
Premier League/EPL (England);** and
Serie A.
This tracker identifies the number of transfers among the top five European leagues, by league, and the total amount of British pounds spent and earned by clubs within these leagues. That said, the tracker includes overlap in money spent due to intra-league transfers: players moving between clubs within a league.
The summer 2026 transfer window will close for all five leagues on September 1, 2026 at the following times:
Bundesliga, Ligue 1 & Serie A: 20:00 BST, or 15:00 EDT;
EPL: 23:00 BST, or 18:00 EDT; and
LaLiga: 22:59 BST, or 18:59 EDT.
The data presented below account for transfers completed and registered within The Guardian’s database.
Transfer Spending and Revenue, by League
As of September 25, 2026, clubs from Europe’s top five leagues have collectively spent and earned a combined £6.7 billion on players transfers during the 2026 summer transfer window.
Since the start of the window, the 20 clubs from the EPL were collectively the highest spenders among those from all five leagues, spending £3.4 billion. They have also accumulated £2.1 billion in revenue — also the highest among all five leagues — throughout the summer 2026 transfer window.
As well, during the same period, the 20 clubs from LaLiga have collectively generated the lowest revenue among the five leagues, totalling only £424.2 million. At the same time, LaLiga clubs have collectively spent £608.3 million.
Finally, the 18 clubs from Ligue 1 have collectively spent the least amount of money among all five leagues, totalling £413.2 million; these clubs also collectively generated £1.1 billion in revenue.
It is worth noting, however, that these amounts solely include transfers with a disclosed fee; transfers containing undisclosed fees are not included. They also exclude loan deals that include purchase options.
The figure below shows the amount of money spent and earned in transfer income by clubs in each of Europe’s top five leagues, by league. Transfers indicated in this figure exclude permanent transfers containing an undisclosed fee, free transfers, loan transfers and loan terminations.
The figure was last updated on September 25, 2026.
Source: The Guardian
Clubs can also complete player swaps, a North America-style transaction in which one player is exchanged for another without transfer fee. Such transfers are rare but can nevertheless have a profound impact on the involved clubs’ performances. One such transfer occurred on August 11, 2026, with Crystal Palace acquiring midfielder Dwight McNeil from Everton FC in exchange for forward Brennan Johnson.
Notable Transfers
Most Expensive Permanent Transfers
Since the start of the summer 2026 transfer window, several clubs across Europe’s top five leagues have spent significant amounts of money on talented players to bolster their squads. Throughout the transfer window, the 10 most expensive permanent transfers include the following:
Enzo Fernández (midfielder): From EPL club Chelsea FC to league rivals Manchester City for £125.0 million;
Bradley Barcola (forward): From Ligue 1 Paris Saint-Germain to EPL club Liverpool FC for £123.0 million;
Morgan Rogers (forward): From EPL club Aston Villa to Chelsea for £117.0 million;
Elliot Anderson (midfielder): From EPL club Nottingham Forest to Manchester City for £116.0 million;
Yan Diomandé (forward): From Bundesliga club RB Leipzig to LaLiga club Real Madrid for £115.7 million;
Sandro Tonali (midfielder): From EPL club Newcastle United to league rivals Tottenham Hotspur for £92.5 million;
Ayyoub Bouaddi (midfielder): From Ligue 1 club LOSC Lille to Manchester City for £85.7 million;
Mateus Fernandes (midfielder): From EFL Championship (and recently relegated) club West Ham United to Tottenham for £85.0 million;
Bruno Guimarães (midfielder): From Newcastle to EPL club Arsenal FC for £75.0 million; and
Sávio (forward): From Manchester City to Tottenham for £75.0 million.
Other permanent transfers involve the following notable players :
Goalkeepers:
Dominik Livaković;
Zion Suzuki; and
James Trafford.
Defenders:
Kerim Alajbegović;
Nathaniel Brown;
Marc Cucurella;
Guéla Doué;
Ezri Konsa;
Maxence Lacroix;
Tarik Muharemović;
Daniel Muñoz;
Marco Palestra;
Cristian Romero;
Djed Spence;
Jan Paul van Hecke; and
Luka Vusković.
Midfielders:
Maghnes Akliouche;
Carlos Baleba;
Valentín Barco;
Moussa Diaby;
Nico González;
Morten Hjulmand;
Curtis Jones;
Lee Kang-in;
Johan Manzambi;
Diego Moreira;
João Palhinha;
Tijjani Reijnders;
Rodri;
Andrey Santos; and
Youri Tielemans,
Forwards
Leon Bailey;
Beto;
Liam Delap;
Julio Enciso;
Matias Fernandez-Pardo;
Malick Fofana;
Mika Godts;
Anthony Gordon;
Nicolas Jackson;
Gabriel Jesus;
Moise Kean;
Randal Kolo Muani;
Rafael Leão;
Gabriel Martinelli;
Ibrahim Mbaye;
Iliman Ndiaye;
Geovany Quenda;
Gonçalo Ramos;
Ismael Saibari;
Crysencio Summerville;
Ferran Torres;
Ollie Watkins; and
Nick Woltemade.
Other transfers, notably those of defender Jérémy Jacquet to EPL club Liverpool (£55.0 million from Stade Rennais), defender Piero Hincapié to EPL club Arsenal (£45.0 million from Bayer Leverkusen), forward Rasmus Højlund to Serie A club SSC Napoli (£43.2 million from Manchester United) and forward Donyell Malen to Serie A club AS Roma (£21.6 million), are the result of loan transfers being converted to permanent transfers.
Free Transfers
The summer transfer window also offers opportunities for players with expired contracts to sign with a club. The kicker: that club does not need to negotiate with a club and, as a result, does not pay a transfer fee.
Notable players who have changed clubs within Europe via a free transfer in summer 2026 include the following:
David Alaba (defender): From Real Madrid to Serie A club Udinese Calcio;
Yves Bissouma (midfielder): From Tottenham to Eredivisie club AC Ajax;
Julian Brandt (midfielder): From Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund to Ajax;
Dani Ceballos (midfielder): From Real Madrid to LaLiga club Real Betis;
Leon Goretzka (midfielder): From Bundesliga club Bayern Munich to Aston Villa;
Ibrahima Konaté (defender): From Liverpool to Real Madrid;
Andy Robertson (defender): From Liverpool to Tottenham;
Mohamed Salah (forward): From Liverpool to Turkish Süper Lig club Trabzonspor;
Bernardo Silva (forward): From Manchester City to Real Madrid;
John Stones (defender): From Manchester City to Serie A club Inter Milan;
Takehiro Tomiyasu (defender): From Ajax to Crystal Palace;
Adama Traoré (forward): From West Ham to LaLiga club Deportivo A Coruña; and
Dušan Vlahović (forward): From Serie A club Juventus FC to Turkish Süper Lig club Besiktas.
As well, some players, especially as they get older, leave Europe to sign for clubs in other leagues around the world. These leagues include the Argentine Primera División, the Brazilian Série A, Major League Soccer (MLS) and Saudi Pro League.
Notable players who left a league outside of Europe and signed for a European club or have left Europe and have signed for a club elsewhere via a free transfer in summer 2026 include the following:
Ismaël Bannacer (midfielder): From Serie A club AC Milan to Qatar Stars League club Al-Gharafa;
Juan Cuadrado (forward/defender): From Serie B club Pisa SC to Categoría Primera A club Millionarios FC;
Fabinho (midfielder): From Saudi Pro League club Al-Ittihad to Trabzonspor;
Franck Kessié (midfielder): From Saudi Pro League club Al-Ahli to Serie A club Atalanta BC;
Robert Lewandowski (forward): From LaLiga club FC Barcelona to MLS club Chicago Fire; and
Alexis Sánchez (forward): From Sevilla to MLS club CF Montréal.
Several well-known players remain as free agents. These players include Dani Carvajal, Krépin Diatta, Mauro Icardi, Riyad Mahrez, Jadon Sancho, Raheem Sterling and Oleksandr Zinchenko.
Loans
In addition to permanent transfers — whether it costs a club millions or nothing — clubs can acquire a player on loan for either half a season, one season or — in rare instances — two seasons. These loans either include a purchase option — optional or mandatory, some of which come into effect after certain performance conditions are met — or have no purchase option. Barring a renewal, a loan without a purchase option would guarantee a player’s return to their parent club once the loan expires.
Notable loan transfers involving clubs from the top five European leagues are the following:
Honest Ahanor (defender): From Atalanta to Crystal Palace;***
Ronald Araujo (defender): From Barcelona to Liverpool;
Leonardo Balerdi (defender): From Ligue 1 club Olympique Marseille to Serie A club AS Roma;
Kevin Danso (defender): From Tottenham to Sunderland AFC;
Jonathan David (forward): From Juventus to LaLiga club Atlético Madrid;
Promise David (forward): From Belgian Pro League club Union Saint-Gilloise to Brighton;
Boulaye Dia (forward): From Serie A club SS Lazio to Ligue 1 club Stade Rennais;
Michele Di Gregorio (goalkeeper): From Juventus to EPL club AFC Bournemouth;
Claudio Echeverri (midfielder): From Manchester City to Primeira Liga club SL Benfica;
Harvey Elliott (midfielder): From Liverpool to LaLiga club Valencia CF;
Youssouf Fofana (midfielder): From AC Milan to LaLiga club Sevilla FC;
Andrés Garcia (defender): From Aston Villa to LaLiga club Getafe CF;
Alejandro Garnacho (forward): From Chelsea to Aston Villa;
Santiago Giménez (forward): From AC Milan to FC Porto;
Evann Guessand (forward): From Aston Villa to Crystal Palace;
Omari Hutchinson (forward): From Nottingham Forest to AC Milan;
Thilo Kehrer (defender): From Ligue 1 club AS Monaco to Ajax;
Thomas Lemar (midfielder): From Atlético Madrid to LaLiga club Elche CF;
Omar Marmoush (forward): From Manchester City to Tottenham;
Mykhailo Mudryk (forward): From Chelsea to Tottenham;
Ethan Nwaneri (midfielder): From Arsenal to Dortmund;
Loïs Openda (forward): From Juventus FC to Olympique Lyonnais;
Aaron Ramsdale (goalkeeper): From EFL Championship club Southampton FC to Newcastle;
Jonathan Rowe (forward): From Serie A club Bologna FC to Atalanta;
Robert Sánchez (goalkeeper): From Chelsea to Serie A club Como 1907;
Pape Matar Sarr (midfielder): From Tottenham to Juventus;
Arthur Theate (defender): From Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt to Bologna;
Jean-Clair Todibo (defender): From West Ham to Ligue 1 club RC Lens; and
Aaron Wan-Bissaka (defender): From West Ham to Aston Villa.
* Ligue 1 includes AS Monaco, which are based in the Principality of Monaco.
** The Premier League (EPL) may include a number of clubs from Wales. These clubs, which currently participate in one of the English Football League’s top four divisions, include EFL Championship clubs Swansea City and Wrexham AFC, EFL League One club Cardiff City and EFL League Two club Newport County. That said, there are no Welsh clubs competing in the EPL for the 2025-26 season.
***Honest Ahanor will join EPL club Chelsea FC on a permanent transfer in July 2027 after his loan spell at Crystal Palace expires.
