Premier League clubs shelled out a record £1.4billion during the summer transfer window.
Here, we look closely at how this summer’s most expensive signings compare to the biggest purchases from the 2016-17 and 2015-16 summers.
To make things more interesting, we have placed the priciest players from each position into a 4-4-2 XI from each of the three summer windows.
Unsurprisingly, the transfer spending has increased significantly from 2015 to 2017 – by some distance, too – equating to £150.4m.
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2017-18 SUMMER TRANSFERS
FORMATION: 4-4-2
GOALKEEPER
Ederson – Pep Guardiola entrusted faith in the Brazilian as his new No1, bringing him in for £36m from Benfica.
DEFENDERS
Benjamin Mendy – Left-back – Manchester City brought the full-back from Monaco for £49.2m.
Davinson Sanchez – Centre-back – The highly-rated Colombian star was bought by Spurs, who paid Ajax £36m for his services.
Victor Lindelof – Centre-back – Swedish star arrived at United for £31m fee from Portuguese giants Benfica.
Kyle Walker – Right-back – The Sky Blues purchased the Tottenham right-back for a whopping £50m.
MIDFIELDERS
Mohamed Salah – Right wing – The Egyptian superstar joined the Merseysiders from Roma in a deal worth £37.8m.
Gylfi Sigurdsson – Central midfield – Everton smashed their transfer club record to sign the Swansea star for £45m.
Nemanja Matic – Central midfield – Jose Mourinho signed the Serbian star for the second time, taking him off old club Chelsea’s hands for £40m.
Bernardo Silva – Left wing – Monaco wide-man arrived for £43m fee as Spaniard Guardiola strengthened attacking options.
STRIKERS
Romelu Lukaku – The most expensive signing of the summer, the Belgian joined the Red Devils from Everton for £75m.
Alvaro Morata – Discarded by Real Madrid, the Spaniard signed for Chelsea for £70m in a bumper transfer.
OVERALL SPEND: £513m
2016-17 SUMMER TRANSFERS
FORMATION: 4-4-2
GOALKEEPER
Claudio Bravo – Chilean made switch to City from Barcelona for £16m.
DEFENDERS
Marcos Alonso – Left-back – Talented star joined Antonio Conte’s revolution for £21m from Fiorentina.
John Stones – Centre-back – Manchester City strengthened backline with the£50m acquisition of Everton defender.
Shkodran Mustafi – Centre-back – German World Cup winner joined Arsenal for £40m from Valencia.
Eric Bailly – Right-back – Ivorian linked-up with Red Devils for £34m from Villarreal.
MIDFIELDERS
Leroy Sane – Left wing – Schalke man arrived at Etihad Stadium for £35m in summer of 2016.
Paul Pogba – Central midfield – The French superstar joined Man United for a then world-record £89m fee from Juventus.
Granit Xhaka – Central midfield – Swiss star was Gunners’ big signing, joining for £40m from Borussia Monchengladbach.
Sadio Mane – Right Wing – Saints star made Anfield switch in whopping deal worth around £38m.
STRIKERS
Michy Batshuayi – Striker – Chelsea splashed out £33m on the young Marseille hitman.
Gabriel Jesus – Striker – Palmeiras star moved to Manchester in transfer worth £28m.
OVERALL SPEND: £424m
2015-16 SUMMER TRANSFERS
FORMATION: 4-4-2
GOALKEEPER
Petr Cech – Experienced shot-stopper moved from Chelsea to London rivals Arsenal in a £10m deal.
DEFENDERS
Baba Rahman– Left-back – Ghanaian joined Chelsea from FC Augsburg for £18m.
Nicolas Otamendi – Centre-back – Valencia star joins Sky Blues for fee of around £40m.
Toby Alderweireld – Centre-back – Belgian defender moved to north London from Southampton for £12m.
Matteo Darmian – Right-back – Torino star joined Man United for £13m.
MIDFIELDERS
Roberto Firmino – Left-wing – Liverpool landed 1899 Hoffenheim star in big-money £37m agreement.
Kevin De Bruyne – Central midfield – Belgian superstar returned to Premier League and joined City in £55m deal from Wolfsburg.
Morgan Schneiderlin – Central midfield – Defensive midfielder moved to Old Trafford from Southampton for £30m.
Raheem Sterling – Right-wing – England man moved from Liverpool to City for £50m fee.
STRIKERS
Christian Benteke – Aston Villa forward moved to Liverpool for £40m.
Anthony Martial – Manchester United shelled out cheque which could rise to £57.6m for Monaco ace.
OVERALL SPEND: £362.6m