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Top 20 revealed
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Premier League clubs have rarely shied away from opening their wallets in pursuit of their goals since the league's inception in the 1992/93 campaign, but in recent years the spending has snowballed well beyond any other division in the world. And over the years, some of the game’s most lethal finishers have arrived on English shores carrying both sky-high price tags and towering expectations.
From record-breaking arrivals, to big-money gambles that didn’t quite pay off, the list of the most expensive strikers in Premier League history is as much a story of ambition as it is of risk and reward. As clubs continue to chase the elusive guarantee of goals up front, Transfermarkt takes a closer look at the centre-forwards who commanded the biggest fees in the division's history - and the various successes of those in question.
Leading the way is Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku, after he moved from Inter Milan back to Chelsea for €113m in 2021. The Stamford Bridge return didn't work out, with Lukaku scoring just 15 goals in 44 games during his second spell in west London. In second is Darwin Núñez - the Uruguayan moved from Benfica to Liverpool for €85m in 2022, but could leave the club this summer. In third, it's Lukaku again. This time his €85m transfer from Everton to Manchester United in 2017. Kai Havertz takes fourth spot following his €80m move from Bayer Leverkusen to Chelsea in 2020. Man United's Rasmus Højlund completes the top five, having joined the Red Devils from Atalanta for €78m.
In sixth place is Manchester City's €75m signing of Omar Marmoush from Eintracht Frankfurt last January. Havertz returns to the list at seventh with his €75m switch across London from Chelsea to Arsenal in 2023. Eighth position goes to probably the best value for money signing on the list - Alexander Isak's €70m move from Real Sociedad to Newcastle. Álvaro Morata takes ninth with his €66m switch from Real Madrid to Chelsea, whilst Dominic Solanke's €64m transfer from Bournemouth to Tottenham last summer completes the top 10.
