Will big-money transfers for Kane, Bellingham, Rice help England? - ESPN
ESPN The Premier League has a well-established financial dominance in the global transfer market but this summer threw up a curious anomaly: three of the four most-expensive deals involved an England international.
Jude Bellingham left Borussia Dortmund to join Real Madrid in a deal worth an initial 88.5m (rising to 115m with add-ons), Declan Rice traded West Ham for Arsenal in a 100m transfer with 5m add-ons, while Harry Kane ended a 19-year association with Tottenham Hotspur to move to Bayern Munich for 86.4m.
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English clubs are used to eyewatering spending -- a record 2.36bn changed hands this summer according to financial analysts Deloitte -- and the Premier League was responsible for completing the quartet of big deals as Chelsea paid Brighton an initial 100m (plus 15m add-ons) to sign Ecuador international Moiss Caicedo. But the success of English football's top division has historically come from acquiring overseas players, gradually evolving the league into one of the most entertaining in the world.
