The Premier League has a well-established financial dominance in the global transfer market but this summer threw up a curious anomaly: three of the four most-expensive deals involved an England international.
Jude Bellingham left Borussia Dortmund to join Real Madrid in a deal worth an initial £88.5m (rising to £115m with add-ons), Declan Rice traded West Ham for Arsenal in a £100m transfer with £5m add-ons, while Harry Kane ended a 19-year association with Tottenham Hotspur to move to Bayern Munich for £86.4m.
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English clubs are used to eyewatering spending — a record £2.36bn changed hands this summer according to financial analysts Deloitte — and the Premier League was responsible for completing the quartet of big deals as Chelsea paid Brighton an initial £100m (plus £15m add-ons) to sign Ecuador international Moisés Caicedo. But the success of English football’s top division has historically come from acquiring overseas players, gradually evolving the league into one of the most entertaining in the world.
That growth is yet to translate to tournament success for the England men’s national team, but manager Gareth Southgate has taken them closer than any before him in the modern era in reaching the 2018 World Cup semifinals and Euro 2020 final. And so it is tempting to think big-money moves for Rice, Bellingham and Kane are symptomatic of a new evolution, perhaps the final missing piece in the puzzle as England’s men seek the authority all over the pitch to help end a 58-year wait for a trophy at Euro 2024.
