Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea top the list of the Premier League's most expensive squads

Is this what the final Premier League table will look like?

Mark Critchley
Thursday 03 September 2015 11:49 BST
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Now that the deadline day dust has settled and the richest transfer window in English football's history has closed, we are able to identify which clubs have assembled the most expensive squads.

Statistics released by CIES Football Observatory have revealed the total cost of each squad in Europe's five major leagues, including those of every Premier League side.

Unsurprisingly, perhaps, Manchester City top the bill in England, with their players having set them back £411m.

Their neighbours Manchester United are not too far behind, with a total spend of £391m, but you have to travel some way to find third-placed Chelsea, whose squad cost £299m to put together.

According to the data, Liverpool should expect a top four finish, given their £252m outlay, while Arsenal's relative frugality means their squad is only the fifth-most expensive.

Elsewhere, Bournemouth's £26.4m squad spend, which is around 15 times lower than City's, could consign them to relegation.

Despite being only the 15th-biggest spenders in the division, many will be surprised if Swansea City do not continue to impress this season, having risen to fourth place already following notable results against Chelsea and United.

When it comes to underachievement, one's eyes are drawn to the north-east.

Sunderland have the eleventh-most expensive set of players, their total coming just a few million short of a nine-figure sum.

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