4. Stoke City
Transfer spend: £99.8m
Transfer fees received: £8.6m
Net: £91.1m
If the Premier League table was decided on net spend, Stoke would be enjoying Champions League football. As it is, the Potters are battling relegation under Mark Hughes. Their huge spend in the past five years perhaps goes some way to explaining why the Welshman replaced compatriot Tony Pulis in the summer, despite the latter continuing to keep the Potters in the top flight. While Hughes’ spending was modest last summer, Pulis consistently splashed the cash on dud, often overpaying on players like Wilson Palacios (£8m) and Kenwyne Jones (£8m). Meanwhile, Stoke were recouping almost nothing for their players, who were presumably all tainted by Pulis’ direct playing style.
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