Premier League clubs paid an average of £39.4m for players bought from other English sides this summer, nearly double the £20.2m shelled out on imports from abroad.
Kieran Maguire, professor of football finance at the University of Liverpool, calls it "a Premier League tax", and the numbers back him up.
Deals worth £40m or more between English clubs nearly trebled, from six in 2024-25 to 18 this window, while big-money moves to and from the continent barely moved from seven to nine.
Iliman Ndiaye (£65m to Everton), Savio (£75m to Tottenham) and Carlos Baleba (£70m to Manchester United) are the headline names in a market only the Premier League can really afford.
Brighton signed Baleba from Lille three years ago for £23m and sold him to Manchester United for £70m, a textbook case of what Maguire calls a "petri dish" for overseas talent.
The tacticians at Brentford, Brighton and Bournemouth scout abroad, develop the players, and the Big Six come shopping, splitting the profits to keep the Profit and Sustainability rules smiling.
Why are Premier League clubs paying more for each other's players?
Because English clubs scout so heavily overseas that young signings arrive early, develop in the league, and are then sold domestically at a mark-up only the Premier League can sustain.
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Source: BBC Sport
