Sunderland's 2025/26 net spend compared to Premier League rivals as January transfer window opens for business

Sunderland will look to add to their squad during the January transfer window.

Sunderland laid the foundations for what has been an incredible return to the Premier League with a highly ambitious summer transfer window.

PREMIER PASSIONS: Sunderland are successfully riding the emotions at the Stadium of Light this season (Image: Carl Recine/Getty Images)

placeholder image — PREMIER PASSIONS: Sunderland are successfully riding the emotions at the Stadium of Light this season (Image: Carl Recine/Getty Images)

The club’s transfer record was broken on two occasions within a fortnight of their dramatic Championship play-off final win against Sheffield United as a £20m permanent deal was secured for loan star Enzo Le Fee before that figure was surpassed by the £30m signing of Strasbourg’s in-demand midfielder Habib Diarra. That set the tone for what was to follow as Regis Le Bris’ squad was overhauled in preparation to face the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City during the Black Cats’ first season back in the top flight.

Perhaps the biggest name to arrive was former Arsenal captain Granit Xhaka and it is clear to see the impact the Switzerland international has made on and off the pitch at the Stadium of Light. However, the likes of Paraguayan defender Omar Alderete and highly rated Dutch goalkeeper Robin Roefs have also made a big impression after their summer arrivals on Wearside.

But with the January transfer window now open for business, how does Sunderland’s net spend since their secured promotion compare to their rivals across the top flight? We take a look at how the Black Cats stack up with figures provided by the experts at TransferMarkt.

What is the net spend of Premier League clubs since the summer of 2025?

Diarra was a player that Leeds themselves wanted to sign in the summer but not at the Sunderland club-record £30m fee needed to get him from Strasbourg. The 21-year-old has been out since September after suffering a groin injury in training but Diarra was still named in Senegal’s squad for the African Cup of Nations and will link up with his national team once he completes his rehabilitation at the Academy of Light. | Getty Images

AFC Bournemouth - €100.31m profit Brighton and Hove Albion - €64.00m profit Brentford - €56.60m profit Aston Villa - €14.65m profit Wolverhampton Wanderers - €2.50m loss Chelsea - €6.90m loss Crystal Palace - €21.15m loss Fulham - €27.50m loss West Ham United - €77.30m loss Burnley - €93.65m loss Newcastle United - €102.85m loss Leeds United - €105.70m loss Nottingham Forest - €108.00m loss Everton - €117.15m loss Tottenham Hotspur - €128.10m loss Manchester City - €136.30m loss Sunderland - €136.90m loss Manchester United - €176.50m loss Liverpool - €263.40m loss Arsenal - €283.20m loss

What has Regis Le Bris said about the January transfer window?

PRAISE: For Leeds United from Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris, above. | Getty Images

Speaking earlier this weekend, Le Bris said: “I don't think we'll rush this process, because we are in a good place, I think, and it's really important to find the right player to fit with our system, so it's always a question of different elements, because you have the player, you have the club, you have us, and so it's not an easy task, we'll see,” Le Bris said.

“When we say two or three spots in the squad, that means that our focus is orientated on these positions. But we don't know if we will find the right targets. So you know that maybe you can reinforce this part of the squad, this part, this part. At the end, maybe we will have zero, or one, or two, or three. We don't know, because it's connected as well with the outgoing players. So we'll see.”

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