Study finds Spurs have not overpaid for players as much as their PL rivals

Tottenham’s activity in the transfer market over the last decade has been much more prudent that the majority of their rivals in Europe’s top five leagues, according to the latest report by CIES Football Observatory. 

The study looks at the various transfer fees paid by clubs in the big five leagues since 2012, and compares them to the players’ values prior to their transfers, which is estimated by CIES’ statistical model.

This paints a picture of just how inflated the fees paid by various clubs have been over the last ten years.

Manchester United top the ‘Overspending table’, having spent a cumulative €238 (£208.6m) more on players than their market values since 2012.

Meanwhile, Chelsea’s cumulative transfer fees have been inflated by €135m (£118.3m) while Arsenal have paid €129m (£113m) more than the market value of their signings in the same period.

Spurs have paid the least inflated fees compared to any of the ‘big six’, as well as clubs like Aston Villa, Everton and West Ham United.

Tottenham have spent a total of €951m (£833m) on 41 players in the last ten years, which is interestingly €6m (£5.2m) less than their cumulative market value.

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This shows that Spurs have been prudent and not paid over market value for many players over the last ten years. 

We had no choice but to be careful in the market, considering we did not have anywhere near the same resources as Man Utd or Chelsea, particularly ten years ago. Spurs were also building an expensive new stadium during this period.

However, we have already seen signs of Tottenham’s policy changing over recent transfer windows. For example, the fee which we paid for Richarlison this summer was quite inflated.

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