OPINION: Lack of Premier League spending hinders January excitement

The Premier League on the whole is notorious for spending extreme amounts in January - as well as the summer - but this time around clubs have barely dared to dip into the market at all.

Compared to previous years, there has been a huge drop-off.

In 2022, the total spend of Premier League teams was £295 million, while that was up even more in 2023 at a record £815m.

After 17 days of the 2024 window being open, with just two weeks to go until it closes, there has been a total of five permanent signings by teams in England's top flight (at the time of writing). 

That number on its own is quite surprising, but looking further only one of those signings is for a senior squad; Radu Dragusin at Tottenham Hotspur for £21.4m.

You could add Timo Werner to Spurs - a loan with an option to buy - to make it six potential permanent arrivals in the league thus far.

Away from Spurs, Brighton have signed youngster Adrian Mazilu - which was already confirmed back in the summer - while Chelsea and Brentford have both brought in teenage prospects.

Luton have signed Tom Holmes, but loaned him straight back to League One Reading.

The lack of spending so far has dampened the usual excitement that surrounds the January transfer window.

Financial constraints

Plenty of clubs are limited in what they can do due to the Premier League's rules around spending.

Everton have already been deducted points this season and now face a new charge alongside Nottingham Forest due to their breaches of profit and sustainability rules.

This means that any January business from those two clubs seems unlikely - despite both needing reinforcements to avoid being dragged towards a relegation battle.

The same goes for Manchester City at the top end of the table, who have to be careful how they spend with 115 charges looming over their heads for breaches of rules in the past.

Newcastle have been very open about their need to sell a key asset to keep in line with the Premier League's financial rules before they can add again to their squad.

"Any decision we make will always be against the backdrop of the medium to long-term benefit for the club. If we're going to get to where we want to get to, at times, it is necessary to trade your players," Newcastle CEO Darren Eales said.

"It is counter-intuitive and part of the inherent system of PSR (Premier League's sustainability rules) that there is an incentive to trade your players if you want to re-invest, by the nature of the boundaries."

Even Chelsea will be wary now after their heavy spending over the last two years with little success to show for it.

Premier League clubs will be more on edge than ever after the recent rule breaches from various teams, meaning January business might take a hit - to the detriment of supporters who want to see their club improve.

Lack of signings

It's not like teams don't need any reinforcements at all; Arsenal are desperate for a striker, Liverpool still have holes in their midfield and defence and Manchester United could use just about anyone they can get at this point.

The same goes for the three promoted sides desperate to stay in the league, as well as those chasing European qualification.

The lack of any marquee signings has made for quite an anti-climactic window so far and with such an open title race this season, anyone could give themselves the edge with just one important addition.

Yet, no club has been seriously linked with any key signings for their squads.

In the past, we've seen huge deals in January such as Fernando Torres to Chelsea, Virgil van Dijk to Liverpool, or even Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to Arsenal.

Even the 2023 window had the entertaining race between Arsenal and Chelsea for Mykhailo Mudryk, or interesting stories like Keylor Navas going to Forest on loan and Arnaut Danjuma declining Everton at the last second to join Spurs.

None of that excitement seems to be present this time around, though - at least so far.

Maybe clubs are a lot more cautious due to recent rule breaches, or maybe there is less attainable talent on the market. After all, teams are far less likely to let prized assets move on in the middle of the season with no replacement.

Perhaps it will take just one deal to kick off a chain reaction, with clubs waiting for others to make their move in order to influence further transfers - in line with Financial Fair Play, some might need to sell before they can buy, but with little activity in the market so far it remains to be seen who will be the first to bite and set the transfer window in motion.

With just 15 days until the window slams shut, Premier League sides need to get a move on if they want to make key improvements to their squads.