Premier League's second highest January transfer window spend still £135m short of record

Despite spending more than four times as much as they did in January last year, Premier League clubs were still some way short of the all-time record - with Newcastle unsurprisingly leading the way with their newfound riches.

English clubs splashed the cash all the way through January and right up to Monday night's 11pm deadline.

According to new figures from Deloitte, in total, Prem clubs spent over £295m in January - a figure that dwarfs the £70m spent in the top-flight in the same month last year.

But that sum still pales in comparison to the enormous £430m that was spent in the Premier League back in the 2018 winter window.

Following their £305million Saudi-backed takeover in October, Newcastle were the league's highest spenders, splashing an enormous £85m on deals to bring Kieran Trippier, Chris Wood, Bruno Guimaraes, Matt Targett and Dan Burn to St James' Park.

Given that the Magpies have been unable to flex their financial muscle since that deal was signed off, it was no surprise to see them embark on a huge spending splurge to try and soothe their relegation fears.

In fact, more than half (£150m) of the total expenditure for the month was spent by the five teams at the bottom of the Premier League as clubs desperately bid to bolster their survival hopes.

But the purse strings were notably tighter at the other end of the table.

Despite spending levels dwarfing last year's, the Premier League's big-hitters were reluctant to spend - with Newcastle's outlay totalling more than the entire expenditure racked up by the current top-six combined.

The initial £37.5m fee that Liverpool paid to capture Luis Diaz was January's biggest deal just ahead of the £35m that Newcastle parted with to prise Guimaraes away from