Premier League’s big spenders gear up for epic title race

The Premier League title race has turned into a spending spree that could top £1 billion before a ball has even been kicked in the 2025-26 season, with the clubs who claimed the top four positions last season refreshing their squads at an unprecedented rate.

Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea will attempt to wrestle the crown from champions Liverpool, and the financial outlay from this quartet so far has been huge. But the teams attempting to bridge the gap, such as Newcastle and Aston Villa, and the fallen giants of Manchester United and Tottenham, risk falling even further behind.

Arsenal will hit the £180 million mark when they seal a £63.5 million deal for Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyokeres, after already adding midfielder Martín Zubimendi (£51m), winger Noni Madueke (£48m), midfielder Christian Norgaard (£10m) and goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga (£5m) to Mikel Arteta’s squad. Meanwhile, Chelsea and Manchester City have spent a combined £260m this summer on the likes of João Pedro (£60m), Jamie Gittens (£51.5m), Tijjani Reijnders (£46.3m), Rayan Ait-Nouri (£36.3m) and Rayan Cherki (£34m).

But none have made a statement as emphatically as Liverpool, who have adhered to old adage of strengthening while on top by investing £185.5m in Arne Slot’s squad. When the Reds complete the £69m signing of Eintracht Frankfurt forward Hugo Ekitike later this week, having already smashed the club-record transfer by sealing a £100m deal for Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Florian Wirtz (with £16m in add-ons), the club will take their summer spending to £254.5m — with deals for Milos Kerkez (£40m), Jeremie Frimpong (£29.5m) and Giorgi Mamardashvili (£29m) already done.

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So as the main contenders prepare to get down to the serious business of preseason preparations with friendly games across the globe this week, the Premier League title race has already been ignited by the finance departments at Anfield, the Emirates, Stamford Bridge and the Etihad.

Having spent £175.9m on four signings (Nico González, Omar Marmoush, Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis) in January, City’s outlay so far in 2025 is an incredible £295.9m. It is clear that its Abu Dhabi hierarchy is determined to reclaim the club’s position at the summit of the Premier League after Liverpool ended its four-season winning streak last season.

But Liverpool already won the 2024-25 title by a 10-point margin from Arsenal — runners-up for a third successive campaign — so can Slot’s side be overhauled following their major outlay on new players this summer?

With the Reds still interested in a £130m-plus deal for Newcastle forward Alexander Isak, who could become a serious target if Darwin Núñez, Luis Díaz and Federico Chiesa leave Anfield before the Sept. 1 transfer deadline, the champions could simply be too strong for the chasing pack.

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Predicting Arsenal’s starting XI for the new season

James Olley predicts Arsenal’s starting XI for the first game of the Premier League season, and wonders if it’s good enough to win the title.

The 2025-26 season has the potential to become the most competitive title race since the Premier League began in 1992-93. Liverpool are the team to beat, but Arsenal’s summer spending shows that they mean business in their attempt to end three straight years of near misses by winning the title for the first time since 2004.

If — or more likely when — Gyokeres completes his move from Sporting, Arsenal will have the proven goal scorer they have lacked in their three runners-up seasons. Madueke will add quality and depth in wide areas up front, while Zubimendi and Norgaard will be an upgrade on Jorginho and Thomas Partey, who both left at the end of their contracts this summer.

City’s reinforcements have been substantial. Yes, Guardiola’s squad has seen club legends Kevin De Bruyne and Kyle Walker leave this summer, with Jack Grealish likely to follow them through the exit door, but the likes of Cherki, Reinders, Ait-Nouri and January signing Marmoush have already shown signs of being able to step up to the plate, while City also have fit-again Ballon d’Or winner Rodri back in their midfield.

Meanwhile, Chelsea’s surprise FIFA Club World Cup triumph in the United States this summer showed that the club’s three-year, £1 billion-plus transfer investment might just be about to pay off with a sustained Premier League challenge.

While Chelsea and City must wait to discover how much of an impact their disrupted summer will have on the fitness of players in the months ahead, the positive from Chelea’s Club World Cup campaign was the manner with which they beat Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain in the final.

Coach Enzo Maresca outthought PSG’s Luis Enrique in the tactical battle with his team selection and approach to the final, while the £60m midtournament signing of Joao Pedro looked to be an instant upgrade up front thanks to his goals and immediate understanding with Cole Palmer.

Chelsea have the XI team to beat any of their rivals, but time will tell whether they have the quality in depth that will enable them to truly make it a four-team title race this season. Arsenal and City have raised the stakes with their recruitment. But Liverpool have made the biggest statement because they simply couldn’t stand still.

Their message to the rest has already been: “Catch us if you can.” So the move for Ekitike and — watch this space — a potential extra addition in Isak, is an ominous warning of their intent to hold on to their crown.

This season, it’s clear that four clubs are going to be genuine contenders for the title, and they’ve all got one thing in common: They have all spent fortunes this summer to put themselves in that position.