Chelsea currently have the top two most expensive signings ever in English football and have three names in the top ten overall.
Earlier this month, Chelsea signed Moises Caicedo for £115m from Brighton beating the previous record of £106.8m the Blues paid Benfica for the services of Enzo Fernandez.
Meanwhile, Manchester United can boast of four of the top ten signings with Manchester City having two players.
Four of these ten lucrative signings have been effected in 2023 alone – a combined total of £403.8m.
Here, we take a look at the top ten most expensive signings in English football history.
10. Romelu Lukaku: £75m (Everton to Manchester United – 2017)
In July 2017, Manchester United signed Romelu Lukaku from Everton for a reported £75m deal. The contract was set to rise to £90m with add-ons and technically worth £100m in total.
United also agreed to waive a £10m fee for the transfer of Wayne Rooney in the opposite direction.
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Lukaku scored 27 goals in all competitions in his debut season, with 16 of those coming in the Premier League. He also bagged nine assists. Among United players, only Paul Pogba managed more.
9. Josko Gvardiol: £77.6m (RB Leipzig to Manchester City – 2023)
Manchester City secured the services of Croatian defender Josko Gvardiol from RB Leipzig in a deal worth £77.6m.
The 21-year-old highly-rated defender was City’s second signing of the summer after fellow Croatia international Mateo Kovacic.
Gvardiol joined Pep Guardiola’s side on a five-year deal. He played his first match for City in the UEFA Super Cup, helping them beat Sevilla on Wednesday, 16th August.
Gvardiol joined Leipzig from Dinamo in 2021 and went on to appear 87 times for the Bundesliga side. He won the German Cup in both seasons.
He also has 21 appearances for Croatia and was part of the side that reached the World Cup semi-finals in 2022.
8. Harry Maguire: £80m (Leicester City to Manchester United – 2019)
On 5 August 2019, Manchester United completed the signature of England centre-back Harry Maguire from Leicester City for £80m. It was and still remains a world record fee for a defender.
Maguire joined the Old Trafford club on a six-year deal, with the option of a further year.
The fee eclipsed the £75m Liverpool paid Southampton for Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk in January 2018.
Maguire was also the second most expensive signing in English top-flight history when he signed for United.
7. Antony: £82m (Ajax to Manchester United – 2022)
Manchester United signed Brazilian winger Antony from Ajax. He joined on a contract until 2027, with the option of an additional year.
Before signing for United, Antony had scored 31 goals and created 27 assists in 134 club appearances for Ajax and Sao Paulo.
He claimed two Eredivisie titles while at Ajax, and a gold medal in the 2020 Summer Olympics. With United, he won the Carabao Cup in his debut season.
6. Paul Pogba: £89m (Juventus to Manchester United – 2016)
When Pogba left Italy for Manchester United, he was the world’s most expensive signing ever. The fee surpassed the in previous world record £85m Real Madrid paid Tottenham for Wales forward Gareth Bale in 2013.
The France international re-signed for United in 2016 but failed to deliver as he struggled with consistency at various times.
He won the Carabao Cup and Europa League titles with United in 2017. He later left the Manchester club in 2022, signing again for Juventus where he has largely seen limited number of minutes due to injury problems.
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5. Romelu Lukaku: £97.5m (Inter Milan to Chelsea – 2021)
Chelsea re-signed striker Romelu Lukaku for a club-record £97.5m from Inter Milan in the summer of 2021.
The lanky Belgian forward had initially moved to Stamford Bridge as a 17-year-old from Belgian side Anderlecht in 2011. He returned to the Blues on a five-year deal. That contract saw him become the highest-paid player at the club at that time, earning £200,000 per week after tax.
However, less than a year after signing for Chelsea for £97.5m, Lukaku rejoined Inter for a loan fee of €8m. This included add-ons.
The 30-year-old scored just eight league goals, registering only one assist in 26 games during that season with Chelsea.
4. Jack Grealish: £100m (Aston Villa to Manchester City – 2021)
Jack Grealish joined Manchester City from Aston Villa for a then British record £100m.
He signed with the Cityzens on a six-year deal and was given the number 10 shirt vacated by Sergio Agüero.
He joined Villa aged six and made a total of 213 appearances in all competitions, scoring 32 goals.
3. Declan Rice: £105m (West Ham to Arsenal – 2023)
England international Declan Rice joined Arsenal from West Ham United for £105m on 15 July, as reported by NRTC.
Before joining the Gunners, Rice was named West Ham captain in May 2022. He guided the Hammers to the Europa Conference League earlier this year and was named the Player of the Tournament by UEFA.
He has already helped Arsenal garner maximum points from their two league games so far this campaign.
2. Enzo Fernandez: £106.8m (Benfica to Chelsea – 2023)
Chelsea secured the signing of 22-year-old Argentine midfielder Enzo Fernandez from Benfica for a British-record £106.8m during winter.
Enzo signed an eight-and-a-half-year contract with the Blues to keep him at the club until the summer of 2031.
1. Moises Caicedo: £115m (Brighton & Hove Albion to Chelsea – 2023)
After a long-drawn transfer saga, Chelsea eventually signed Moises Caicedo in August 2023.
The Ecuador international joined Chelsea for a British transfer record fee in the tune of £115m.
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The 21-year-old had a nightmare debut for the two-time Champions League winners. On Sunday, August 20, Caicedo came on as a second half substitute in Chelsea’s 3-1 loss at West Ham.
Chelsea were already down 2-1 before he entered the fray. After a shaky few minutes of action in which he gave away possession a few times, Caicedo conceded a penalty.
The spot kick was converted by Lucas Paqueta for West Ham’s third.
However, Chelsea fan will hope for better and stronger showings by the no-nonsense defensive midfielder. His energy, tenacity, tackling ability and aggressiveness are some of the reasons Chelsea broke the bank to sign him. Every Chelsea faithful will now hope he forms formidable partnership with another summer capture Romeo Lavia and Enzo Fernandez.
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