Premier League Clubs Break Summer Transfer Fee Record By Spending $1.8 Billion

English Premier League teams have broken the record for spending on summer transfer fees for the sixth straight year, dishing out  £1.4 billion ($1.8 billion) on players during the transfer window.

Premiere League Summer Transfer Deadline News

The figure — which includes an unprecedented  £210 million ($272 million) on deadline day — represents a 23 percent increase relative to last year.

Net spend — in which the amount raised through sales is subtracted from purchases — also continued to rise to a total of £665 million ($861 million), having been £635.6m in 2016, £432.6m in 2015 and £386.5m in 2014.

Among the biggest deals completed Thursday were Chelsea’s £35 million ($45 million) signing of Leicester City midfielder Danny Drinkwater and French center-back Mamadou Sakho’s £26 million ($34 million) transfer to Crystal Palace from Liverpool.

Other transfers that occurred after the 11pm BST deadline on Thursday were Chelsea’s signing of Torino’s Italian defender Davide Zappacosta, Spurs’ recruitment of Swansea striker Fernando Llorente for £15 million ($19 million) and the Welsh club’s replacement of him with Manchester City’s Ivorian forward Wilfried Bony — who spent last season on loan to Stoke City — for £12 million ($15.5 million).

The increase in spending also comes after the introduction of the new TV deal, which will see the Premier League benefit from a 70 percent increase in the value of its British television rights for the 2016-2019 seasons with Sky and BT paying a combined 5.136 billion pounds ($7.8 billion) to air games. Broadcasters are set to pay more than 10 million pounds ($15.2 million) to screen each game.

Brazilian midfielder Philippe Coutinho remains with Liverpool despite bids from several different high-profile clubs including Barcelona, which offered £114 million ($148 million) for him earlier this month.

SUNDERLAND, ENGLAND – APRIL 10: Danny Drinkwater of Leicester City during the Barclays Premier League match between Sunderland and Leicester City at the Stadium of Light on April 10, 2016 in Sunderland, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)