Premier League clubs received more than they spent for the first time thanks to Chelsea and Manchester United sales

The £265m received by the 20 Premier League clubs was boosted predominantly by Chelsea and Manchester United selling first-team players

Oscar's £60m move to Chinese side Shanghai SIPG helped Premier League clubs make more than they spent (Getty)

Premier League clubs made a profit in the transfer window for the first time, even though 2017 proved the most expensive January window for six years as more than £200m was spent on new players.

Late deals for Manolo Gabbiadini and Robbie Brady – who joined Southampton and Burnley in £17.1m and £13m deals respectively – helped push the total spent by Premier League clubs to £215m, second only to the record spend of £225m in 2011, according to finance analysts Deloitte.

However, while clubs were able to splash the cash largely thanks to the record TV broadcasting deal that Premier League sides benefit from, they were also able to generate large player sales that meant that for the first time in the history of the Premier League, clubs in the English top flight received more money than they spent.

The 20 clubs received around £255m in transfer fees last month, with the total figure boosted significantly by Brazil international Oscar leaving Chelsea to join Chinese side Shanghai SIPG for up to £60m.

Manchester United were also responsible for generating a large profit this month, as Jose Mourinho saw both Morgan Schneiderlin and Memphis Depay leave the club for £22m and £16m to Everton and Lyon respectively. With the club deciding not to sign any new players this month, they were able to reduce their net transfer spend this season after shelling out over £150m on Paul Pogba, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Eric Bailly last summer.

Overall, the 2016/17 season has proven the most expensive in history, with clubs spending £1.38bn on new players, though the split weighs heavily in favour of summer spending where £1.165bn was spent last year. The total beats last season’s existing record of £1.04bn.

Tuesday’s deadline day ensured that Premier League spending for the season is over, but clubs can still generate more in player sales given that the Chinese transfer window does not close until 28 February. United captain Wayne Rooney and teammate Ashley Young are two of many names that have been linked with big-money moves to the Far East, although United manager Mourinho erred on the side of caution in selling the pair and hinted on Tuesday that they would both be staying with the club until the end of the season.

It appears that Chelsea came close to levelling out the January spending figure though, with reports suggesting that they had a £35m offer for Celtic’s Moussa Dembele rejected along with a £4m bid for his teammate Craig Gordon. Had both deals gone through on deadline day, the gap between what was spent and received by Premier League clubs would have fallen to less than £1m.