However, last minute spending on deadline day was just £25m, significantly less than the record of £150m set in January 2018, according to Deloitte.

Clubs total gross spend, calculated before including player sales, hit £1.6bn for the 2019-20 season and is the second-highest since the introduction of the transfer window in January 2003.

This compares to £1.4bn in 2018-19, and below the all-time record of £1.9bn set in the 2017-18 season.

The ‘big six’ Premier League clubs accounted for half (52%) of the total gross expenditure in the January 2020 transfer window, compared to 43% in January 2019.

Deloitte’s analysis showed Premier League clubs have been reluctant to transfer players within the Premier League, with 2% of gross transfer spend as a result of intra Premier League sales in the January 2020 window, compared to an overall long term intra Premier League average of 29%.

Tim Bridge, director in the sports business group at Deloitte, said: ‘Two seasons ago Premier League clubs spent a record £430m in the January transfer window.

‘However, over the last two January windows spending patterns have returned to normal.

‘Clubs are focused on long-term financial stability and are therefore less willing to spend in excess of pre-defined transfer budgets in pursuit of short term success.

‘This is further evidenced by the prominence of more agile transfer strategies, such as utilising loan transfers often with an option to buy, as well as focusing attention towards the promotion of young talent from club academies in recent years.’

There is support for this view in a separate analysis of football finances.

Andy Turner, partner at Mercer & Hole, said: ‘There has been speculation that the activity in this, most recent, transfer window is down to the impact of Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules with clubs looking closely at budgets and finance and the need to balance the desire for success with compliance with the rules.

‘The main fair play regulation is centred around the club not exceeding a certain level of loss. A club can influence its profit by either increasing its revenues or reducing its costs.

‘There is a degree of flexibility as to how a company can quite legitimately draw up financial statements that comply with the regulations.

‘This includes management decisions around player acquisitions, amortization (lowering the book value over a set period) of players and specific judgement areas, such as the magnitude of certain provisions or reserves that could significantly affect the financial results of a club.

‘As a result, we have seen an increase in the number of loan signings with an option to buy and clubs investing in younger talent for the future.’

The January 2020 transfer window follows a record breaking summer 2019 window, which saw the ‘big five’ European leagues spend in excess of £5bn for the first time, with four leagues setting transfer records for spending in a single window in the process.

They have all also increased their transfer expenditure since last season’s window. In January 2020, Serie A in Italy spent £180m, up from £140m in 2019, the German Bundesliga £165m compared to £65m, Spanish La Liga £110m (up from £65m) and French Ligue 1 £100m (also up from £65m).

Bridge said: ‘The unprecedented level of spending by European clubs has been driven by a number of factors, including increased income from improved domestic league broadcast agreements and the participation in and subsequent distributions from UEFA club competitions.’

Despite this, on a seasonal basis the Premier League remains the highest-spending league amongst the ‘big five’ European football leagues, with £1.6bn. La Liga clubs spent £1.2bn, Serie A clubs £1.2bn, Bundesliga clubs £785m and Ligue 1 clubs £690m.