The summer transfer window has seen a significant focus on midfielders, with clubs around the World spending a total of €1.68 billion on midfield signings. This accounts for 39% of the total transfer fees spent this summer. This trend of investing heavily in midfielders has been increasing over the years, with the current summer window potentially setting a new record.
In the previous seasons, the highest spending on midfielders occurred in 2019/20, with €2.68 billion spent on 814 midfield signings. However, the ongoing 2023/24 season has already seen significant investment in midfielders, with Arsenal leading the way in spending. The London club has spent €191.6 million on midfield acquisitions, including the record-breaking signing of Declan Rice from West Ham for €116.6 million.
Other top transfers involving midfielders this summer include Jude Bellingham’s move from Borussia Dortmund to Real Madrid for €103 million and Kai Havertz‘s switch from Chelsea to Arsenal for €75 million. In total, the top ten transfers this summer have involved seven central midfielders.
Arsenal‘s spending spree on midfielders has not only inflated the market but has also broken the record for the most amount of money spent by a club on midfielders in a single season. Their €191.6 million expenditure surpasses the previous record held by Chelsea, who spent €151.5 million on midfield signings in the 2022/23 season.
Real Madrid is also a prominent club in terms of midfield spending this summer, with their €123 million investment in Bellingham and Arda Güler placing them fourth on the all-time list of midfield expenditures. Liverpool follows closely in eighth place after spending €112 million on Dominik Szoboszlai and Mac Allister.
The trend of clubs prioritizing midfield strengthening is further highlighted by the fact that Al-Hilal, a Saudi Arabian club, has spent €95 million on Rúben Neves and Sergej Milinković-Savić, placing them close to entering the top ten spenders.
With a month still remaining in the transfer window, it remains to be seen if the 2023/24 season will break the record for fees spent on midfielders. However, the current figures suggest that clubs are increasingly focused on bolstering their midfield positions rather than investing heavily in strikers, challenging the conventional belief that strikers are the most valued players in the football World.
