The Premier League tax: Five overpriced English transfers

FT Desk

• 11 Nov 2024 14:19 CST
• 4 min read

The Premier League tax. It is a term that is now commonly used among football fans to describe the ridiculously inflated transfer fees for deals between English clubs.

In the summer of 2021 it became a big talking point when Manchester United signed one of the best defenders of his generation in Raphael Varane from Real Madrid for less money than Arsenal paid for Brighton’s Ben White.

The topic again reared its head in the summer of 2022 when Tottenham began negotiations - ultimately unsuccessful - to sign one of Europe’s best young defenders, Alessandro Bastoni, for just €55 million.

Two years later, Man Utd were in talks to sign Everton youngster Jarrad Branthwaite and were quoted a price of €80m-€90m for a player with just one full Premier League season under his belt.

While these deals failed to be completed, there are plenty of examples of clubs massively overspending on domestic talent.

Below, we go through a number of players who fell victim to the Premier League tax.

Jack Grealish (Aston Villa to Man City, €117m)

Jack Grealish was signed for a British record fee in the summer of 2021, but pound for pound, he would go down as one of the biggest transfer flops of that season.

The 26-year-old scored just three league goals and had three assists all season from 26 games.

Tactically, he struggled to adapt to Pep Guardiola's system and was accused of taking too many touches and slowing down the team’s play.

He also was responsible for Man City going out of the Champions League semi-finals when he missed two easy chances just minutes before Real Madrid’s late second-leg comeback.

Grealish got a shot at redemption when he played a crucial role in Man City's historic treble in 2022/23, but he swiftly slumped again the following term, hammering home that it was a mistake to sign him.

Harry Maguire (Leicester to Man Utd, €87m)

No one could believe that Man Utd agreed to pay a world-record fee for a defender when they signed Harry Maguire from Leicester in 2019.

While his first two campaigns were okay, subsequent ones made a mockery of his transfer fee. Maguire's 2021-22 season was one of the most calamitous by any Man Utd player in any season ever.

The 29-year-old committed the most errors of any player leading to opposition chances as Man Utd conceded 57 goals in what was, at the time, their worst defensive season in Premier League history.

He wouldn't fare much better later on and was ultimately stripped of the captaincy and relegated to the bench by Erik ten Hag in 2023.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka (Crystal Palace to Man Utd, €55m)

Aaron Wan-Bissaka broke through very quickly at Crystal Palace, and just as quickly he was off to Old Trafford in this mega-money deal.

He had played just one full season of professional football when he incredibly became one of the most expensive fullbacks in history.

Praised for his defensive work but very ordinary going forward, Wan-Bissaka failed to make the cut at Man Utd.

He left Man Utd for West Ham for €17.6m in 2024.

Mason Mount (Chelsea to Man Utd, €64.2m)

The term 'Man Utd tax' is just as common as 'Premier League tax' due to the Red Devils' history of spending ridiculous fees on decidedly average players.

In the summer of 2023, Man Utd splashed a whopping €64.2m on Chelsea homegrown Mason Mount, who had just a year left on his contract and had no intention of extending.

While a good Premier League player on his day, the fee was outrageous whichever way you looked at it. His first season at Old Trafford was disastrous, with Mount spending more time on the treatment table than on the pitch.

Daniel James (Man Utd to Leeds, €35m)

Man Utd have overpaid for numerous Premier League players in recent years, so it’s only fair that they sell one at an inflated price also.

Daniel James, a player who had shown himself to be all pace and not much else, moved on in 2021 for a hugely bloated fee despite scoring just six league goals in 50 games for Man Utd.

He failed to pay back much of this fee to Leeds and they were relegated in 2023.