Clubs in Europe’s top five leagues spent around £4.3billion on new players in the summer transfer window and a lot of records were broken.
A lot of players completed big-money transfers during the summer and some had the added pressure of becoming a club-record signing.
We’ve taken a look at every club from Europe’s top five leagues that broke their own transfer record in the summer of 2024 and how those players have fared at the start of the 2024/25 season.
Note: we’ve taken potential add-ons and bonuses into account when deciding who is a club-record signing.
Premier League
Bournemouth
Bournemouth used the funds from Dominic Solanke’s move to Tottenham to sign Evanilson from Porto in a deal worth an initial £31.7million and another £8.5million in potential add-ons.
“Evanilson is a hugely sought-after striker and for us to bring him to the club in a record-breaking deal shows our ambition and intent,” Bournemouth chief executive Neill Blake said.
But the striker has had a difficult start to his Premier League career, failing to score in his first four appearances and missing a penalty in a 1-0 loss against Chelsea.
Brentford
Brentford anticipated Ivan Toney’s departure by targeting Igor Thiago and they agreed a £30million deal with Club Brugge back in February.
The deal became official at the start of the summer transfer window, but the striker picked up an injury in pre-season and will miss the first half of the 2024/25 campaign.
Brighton
Brighton were the second-biggest spending team in the world in the summer of 2024 and they broke their own transfer record twice in the space of two months.
Yankuba Minteh arrived from Newcastle United in a deal worth £30million and the Seagulls then triggered the £40millon release clause in Georginio Rutter’s contract at Leeds United.
Rutter has made two starts and two substitute appearances for the Seagulls but is yet to register a goal or assist.
Fulham
After selling Joao Palhinha to Bayern Munich, Fulham were able to sign Emile Smith Rowe from Arsenal in a deal worth an initial £27million and another £7million in potential add-ons.
The midfielder has already started to justify that price tag, registering two goals and one assist in his first five Premier League appearances for the club.
Ipswich Town
Ipswich paid Chelsea an initial £20million and another £2.5million in add-ons to sign Omari Hutchinson, who spent the 2023/24 season on loan at Portman Road and helped the club win promotion to the Premier League.
“Omari’s certainly had a positive start to the [2024/25] season, he’s contributing well on all phases and he’s a handful for any team,” manager Kieran McKenna said after a 1-1 draw with Southampton.
“Of course, the next steps for him now, and I think as a team, are our execution on certainly big moments, whether it’s in possession phases or on transitions, it can definitely improve so that we can create more clear-cut opportunities.
“He’s doing very, very well and he’s showing he can already cause a lot of problems at this level.”
Tottenham
Dominic Solanke scored 19 goals for Bournemouth in the 2023/24 season and his impressive form prompted Tottenham to fork out a club-record fee to secure his signature.
They paid the Cherries an initial £55million and another £10million in potential add-ons for the striker, who scored his first goal for Spurs in a 3-1 win over Brentford.
La Liga
Girona
Girona were the surprise package of the 2023/24 season as they finished third in La Liga and qualified for the Champions League for the first time in their history.
That allowed them to break their transfer record twice, first by signing Ladislav Krejci from Sparta Prague in a €12million deal and then by paying Watford an initial €18million and €6million in potential add-ons for Yaser Asprilla.
Asprilla arrived at the club as a direct replacement for Savinho and has already shown glimpses of his talent in La Liga.
Serie A
Como
Como – who are managed by Cesc Fabregas – won promotion to Serie A at the end of the 2023/24 season and Andrea Belotti became their club-record signing when he completed a €4.5million move from Roma.
But the striker held that title for just four days as Como then spent €8million to buy Alberto Dossena from Cagliari. They made another €8million deal in the same transfer window, signing Yannik Engelhardt from Fortuna Dusseldorf.
Dossena registered an assist on his debut to help Como secure a 1-1 draw against his former club but Engelhardt is yet to establish himself in the starting line-up.
Bundesliga
Stuttgart
After finishing second in the Bundesliga in 2023/24, Stuttgart broke their transfer record to sign Ermedin Demirovic from Augsburg in a €21million deal.
They then turned Deniz Undav’s loan move into a permanent deal by paying Brighton & Hove Albion a total package worth around €30million.
“The transfer is at another level in economic terms for us, but we’re investing in proven quality,” Stuttgart board member Fabian Wohlgemuth said. “We’re happy to have finalized the deal and look forward to our future with Deniz.”
Undav netted 19 goals in all competitions last season and has made a strong start to the 2024/25 campaign, scoring five goals in seven appearances.
Hoffenheim
After Maximilian Beier joined Borussia Dortmund, Hoffenheim filled the void left by his departure by paying a club-record €18million to sign Adam Hlozek from Bayer Leverkusen.
The 22-year-old registered an assist in a 3-1 defeat against Eintracht Frankfurt but a thigh injury has hampered his start to the 2024/25 season.
Holstein Kiel
Holstein Kiel won promotion to the Bundesliga in 2023/24 and they bolstered their squad by signing Magnus Knudsen and Armin Gigovic from Russian side FC Rostov.
Knudsen cost €1million while Gigovic cost a club-record €1.8million, and he came off the bench to score a consolation goal in a 6-1 defeat against Bayern Munich.
Ligue 1
Lyon
Lyon spent just under €150million in the summer and the most expensive deal was the signing of Moussa Niakhate from Nottingham Forest, with the centre-back costing €31.9million.
He made an error that led to a goal on his debut as Lyon lost 3-0 against Rennes, but he’s now started to rediscover his best form.
“I demand more of myself than the fans, the journalists, the coach or even the club president,” he told reporters. “Ever since I was a kid, I’ve done everything I can to be the best I can be.
“It’s not me who sets the price, it’s football, but it’s true that that price imposes a requirement, but that pleases me and makes me want to surpass myself even more.”
Nantes
Matthis Abline spent the 2023/24 season on loan at Nantes and his performances helped the club avoid relegation to Ligue 2.
They paid Rennes an initial €10million and €2million in potential add-ons to make the move permanent, and he’s since scored one goal in five appearances in 2024/25.