English Premier League transfer spending surpasses £1bn

Footballing riches show no sign of letting up as English clubs have spent over £1bn in transfer fees as the summer deadline approaches at midnight on Wednesday.

The figure has already easily surpassed the record set last year of £870m for the three-month period in which clibs can purchase players.

The figure stood at £1.005bn on Wednesday after London club Arsenal's double purchase of Lucas Perez and Shkodran Mustafi for around £52m.

French midfielder Paul Pogba was the most expensive purchase of the transfer window for Manchester United, brekaing the world transfer record in his €110m move from Italian outfit Juventus.

The figures, which were released by Deloitte, show the increased cash available to clubs following a new mega-deal negotiated with the league for broadcasting rights, as well as the arrival of some big-name managers backed by large budgets.

Critics are keen to bemoan the steep rise in the amount of money clubs are spending, which has increased steadily ever since Sky's deal to broadcast top flight games in the early 1990s.

Sky and BT agreed to a £5.1bn deal with clubs which came into effect this year.