In recent years, the only notable signing as the clocked ticked down has been Enzo Fernandez.
Fernandez was fresh from being named the best young player at the 2022 World Cup with winners Argentina.
The midfielder joined Chelsea from Benfica weeks later in what was, at the time, the British record transfer fee of £106.8m.
It was Chelsea’s spending which shaped the window and helped set a new Premier League record.
In total, £815m was splashed out, of which Chelsea were responsible for £284.1m – 34.86%.
It was the early delays of BlueCo’s investment in the squad after completing a takeover the previous summer. It created an outlier in total spending, especially across the post-Covid years.
The Fernandez deal rumbled on throughout the evening. It was a real on-off saga but eventually went through as the seconds ticked down.
This season’s equivalent was probably Dwight McNeil’s move from Everton to Crystal Palace. And that didn’t even go through.
It is rare for the big clubs to spend in January unless they have a specific need.
Arsenal and Liverpool have not signed a player since 2023. Chelsea (£13.5m) and Manchester United (£27.5m) had modest outlays only in 2025.
Manchester City have bucked the trends across the past two seasons as Pep Guardiola has tried to shake up his squad.
In 2025, he spent £188m on Nico Gonzalez, Omar Marmoush, Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis.
This winter saw an £84m spend, this time on ready-made Premier League talent in Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi.
You have to go back to 2018 to find a winter window when the big six collectively spent a lot of money.
Deals included Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang joining Arsenal on deadline day from Borussia Dortmund, while Liverpool snapped up Virgil van Dijk from Southampton.
Of a total Premier League outlay of £500m, the big six clubs were responsible for £322m of it. It was spread out, too. Arsenal, at £86m, were the biggest contributors (26.71%).
To compare with the 2023 window, Chelsea were responsible for 73.39% of the big six’s £387.1m spend.