Premier League Breaks Spending Record As Leeds Sign Okafor

Leeds United have signed AC Milan striker Noah Okafor for £18m to take spending by Premier League clubs this summer to a record £2.37bn.

The Switzerland striker has joined the Premier League club on a four-year deal.

The 25-year-old becomes Leeds’ ninth summer signing since winning the Championship to secure their return to the top flight.

Okafor’s arrival at Elland Road takes the total spent by Premier League clubs this summer to £2.37bn, according to data from FootballTransfers.com.

Six Premier League clubs have broken their club transfer records in this window to contribute to the record level of spending.

Brentford completed a deal of up to £42.5m to sign Burkina Faso forward Dango Ouattara from Bournemouth, who spent £34.6m on French centre-back Bafode Diakite.

Newly promoted Burnley and Sunderland have paid £25m and £26m respectively for French midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu and Senegal midfielder Habib Diarra, whose deal could rise to £30m with add-ons.

Nottingham Forest have broken their transfer record twice this summer, first for Switzerland winger Dan Ndoye from Bologna, then winger Omari Hutchison from Ipswich for £37.5m.

In June, Liverpool signed Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen for a guaranteed £100m and a further £16m in add-ons.

Should those add-ons be achieved, Wirtz’s move to Anfield would become a British transfer record, beating the £107m Chelsea paid Benfica for Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez in 2023.

And with 10 days to go in the window, it is certain that an even bigger record will be set.