On transfer deadline day earlier this week, expenditure exceeded £210m, also a new record. The previous record, set last summer, was £155m.

The average Premier League club spent £71m on player transfers compared to around £58m in 2016.

The highest-spending clubs were Manchester City (£215m), Chelsea (£180m), Manchester United (£145m) and Everton (£145m). Only four clubs recorded net transfer receipts (Swansea City, Arsenal, Burnley and Stoke City).

Premier League clubs spent £770m to acquire players from overseas clubs (2016: £720m), representing 54% of total gross transfer expenditure, while £185m flowed in the opposite direction.

As well as setting a new record for spending in a single season (£1.43bn), Premier League clubs have topped the previous calendar year spending, scoring £1.64bn.

The record spending means that gross spending by Premier League clubs has surpassed £10bn since the first transfer window in January 2003.

Premier League clubs’ transfer spending this summer as a proportion of their estimated revenue for the 2017/18 season is 31%, well over the 22% average.

Dan Jones, partner in the sports business group at Deloitte, said: ‘Premier League clubs have broken their own record for transfer expenditure for the sixth summer in a row. With the continued growth in clubs’ revenues, principally from broadcast rights, it is no surprise that Premier League clubs have continued to maintain their leading position in the world’s player transfer market.

‘Importantly, and when analysed in the context of generating record broadcast, commercial and matchday revenues, Premier League clubs are spending well within their means.

‘For the last 15 years, annual transfer spending has remained within the range of between a fifth and a third, and averaged at around a quarter, of total revenues. With Premier League clubs’ revenue showing no sign of decreasing in the foreseeable future, we would expect to see spending continue to rise.’

Of the ‘big 5’ top divisions in Europe, the Premier League is once again the highest spending league. Next in the rankings was Serie A, with a gross spend of £735m (€800m). This was followed by Ligue 1 (£590m/€645m), the Bundesliga (£510m/€555m) and La Liga (£500m/€545m).

Jones said: ‘Premier League clubs continue to benefit from a virtuous circle: investing record revenues to acquire some of the best playing talent from around the world, which in turn helps the Premier League secure substantial improvements in domestic and international broadcast deals, and helps individual clubs maximise commercial revenues and matchday attendances through stadium improvements and similar long-term investments.’