Spending patterns for Premier League clubs are not just about the fee, but who the clubs are choosing to do business with.
Take a look at the high-value deals, worth £40m or more, which have doubled this summer from two years ago.
In 2024-25 there were 13 such deals, this summer there were 27.
More striking is the breakdown of these transfers.
Two years ago, there were seven transfers worth £40m or more done with teams on the continent. Only six were completed between Premier League clubs.
Now look at what has changed.
This summer there were nine deals worth £40m or more with European clubs.
But between clubs in England it has trebled, from six to 18. The total spend across all domestic transfers has more than doubled, too.
Maguire told BBC Sport that one reason is English clubs now scout players from abroad so extensively that they are signed much earlier, and made into Premier League players.
“We’ve got a new tranche of clubs, sort of the the algorithm kids, who are recruiting from the international markets,” Maguire said.
“They’re bringing players to the Premier League, and then the Big Six clubs are signing the best players.”
On such example is Carlos Baleba, who Brighton signed from Lille three years ago for £23m and last week sold to Manchester United for £70m.
“It has effectively created a recruitment area, sort of a petri dish, to determine which of the overseas players can deliver in the Premier League, and then it’s a win-win for all the parties,” Maguire added.
But that only tells part of the story. There are also the transfers which look like they could only happen in the Premier League.
Would a European club have given Manchester City the £75m Tottenham spent on Savio? Or paid Everton £65m for Iliman Ndiaye? What about the £85m West Ham received from Spurs for Mateus Fernandes?
As if to underline this, only seven signings of £40m or more were made this summer by European clubs, from another on the continent, all by Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Paris St-Germain.
Trevor Watkins, the former Bournemouth chairman who now works as a sports lawyer, told BBC 5 Live Breakfast that the Premier League almost operates within its own bubble.
“The revenues dwarf what other leagues generate,” Watkins said. “And what you see this year is a lot of deals between clubs in England.
“A lot of money going down to lower leagues, but also between Premier League sides because, to be honest, they’re probably the only ones that will pay the wages or pay the fees.”