Leeds United have overseen a fire sale of talent since missing out on promotion to the Premier League last season. Daniel Farke’s side finished third in the Championship before losing the play-off final and have been unable to hold onto their leading names this summer.
Georginio Rutter is the latest Leeds star to depart for pastures new after Brighton activated the French forward’s £40m release clause. Following that sale, Leeds have now entered the top five biggest transfer windows ever in terms of income received from player sales.
The most income received from player sales in a single transfer window
5. Leeds United – £137.9m (Summer 2024)
Leeds missed out on an automatic return to the Premier League last season as a 1-0 defeat to Southampton in the play-off final condemned the club to another Championship campaign. The vultures have circled Elland Road all summer with the club’s talented team picked apart.
Archie Gray signed for Tottenham Hotspur after winning the EFL Championship Young Player of the Year award in 2023/24, while Crysencio Summerville – who scooped the senior award – joined West Ham in a £25m deal.
If Leeds sell Georginio Rutter, they’ll have made £140m in player sales this summer.
The 23 other teams in the Championship have made a 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 £139m.
— Second Tier podcast (@secondtierpod) August 15, 2024
The departure of Georgino Rutter brought in £40m from the Premier League with that trio alone accounting for around £100m of income this summer. Marc Roca, Diego Llorente, Glen Kamara and Charlie Cresswell are among the others to have moved on for fees.
4. Wolves – £142m (Summer 2023)
Wolves cashed in on some big names in 2023 as the club sought to remain compliant with the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability rules.
Ruben Neves was tempted to the Saudi Pro League by Al-Hilal in a £47m deal, while Wolves opted to earn an instant profit on record recruit Matheus Nunes, who joined Manchester City for a fee of £53m after one season at Molineux.
Nathan Collins’ time in the Old Gold also lasted just one season as the defender joined Brentford, while Conor Coady and Raul Jimenez fetched a combined £14m after exits to Leicester and Fulham respectively.
3. Southampton – £150.9m (Summer 2023)
Southampton’s relegation from the Premier League in 2022/23 saw a summer exodus at St Mary’s.
Romeo Lavia was biggest sale as the Belgium international joined Chelsea for £52m, becoming the most expensive teenager in Premier League history. Tino Livramento, James Ward-Prowse, Mohammed Salisu and Nathan Tella also fetched sizeable fees for the Saints.
⬅️ Mohammed Salisu – £17.2m
⬅️ Tino Livramento – £32m
⬅️ James Ward-Prowse – £30m
⬅️ Roméo Lavia – £58m*
⬅️ Che Adams – £12m*𝙏𝙊𝙏𝘼𝙇: £149.2m 💰
Selected Southampton outgoings this summer. 👋 pic.twitter.com/19qGPxGR7u
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) August 18, 2023
2. Brighton – £180m (Summer 2023)
Brighton have built a reputation for money-making in the transfer market, signing low-cost gems and turning them into profit.
Brighton banked a potential £115m British transfer record from Chelsea for Moises Caicedo in 2023, while Alexis Mac Allister also headed to Liverpool in a £35m deal.
Incredibly, Chelsea have been responsible for more than half of the £480m that the Seagulls have brought in from player and manager exits since the turn of the century. The West Londoners also splashed £25m on Spanish shot-stopper Robert Sanchez last summer.
Chelsea – £232m (Summer 2023)
Chelsea might be the biggest spenders in the Premier League but the Blues also hold the record for the most income received in a single window.
To offset the record-breaking £435.5m spent in the 2023 summer transfer window, Chelsea offloaded a number of big names to recoup more than half that outlay. Among the exits were Mason Mount, Kai Havertz and Mateo Kovacic, who joined Premier League rivals for a combined £145m.
🔵 Chelsea this summer:
➡️ Ins:
🇪🇨 Moisés Caicedo – £115M
🇧🇪 Roméo Lavia – £58M
🇫🇷 Christopher Nkunku – £53M
🏴 Cole Palmer – £45M
🇫🇷 Axel Disasi – £38.7M
🇸🇳 Nicolas Jackson – £32M
🇫🇷 Lesley Ugochukwu – £23M
🇪🇸 Robert Sanchez – £20M
🇧🇷 Angelo Gabriel – £13M⬅️ Out:
🇩🇪 Kai… pic.twitter.com/sUso32QdMM— Transfer News Live (@DeadlineDayLive) September 1, 2023
Kalidou Koulibaly and Edouard Mendy headed to the Saudi Pro League, while Chelsea brought in £32m from AC Milan for Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Christian Pulisic.
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