The most expensive English transfers of all time ahead of Gordon joining Barcelona | OneFootball

England has produced some brilliant players in recent years and clubs are willing to spend a lot of money to secure their services.

Premier League sides have to fulfil a quota of homegrown players in their squad every season, which means that English players now have an added premium to their price tag.

But clubs in Europe have also shown more interest in English players, and Barcelona are set to sign Anthony Gordon from Newcastle United for a reported £69million.

Here, TEAMtalk have taken a look at the 11 most expensive transfers involving English players and how they fared after making the move. Note: all transfer fees are inclusive of potential add-ons, although not all will have been fully activated.

11= Jamie Gittens – £52m

A Manchester City academy graduate, Gittens followed in the footsteps of Jadon Sancho by moving to Borussia Dortmund in 2020.

The 21-year-old spent five years in Germany before returning to England, joining Chelsea in a deal worth an initial £48.5million and a potential £3.5million in add-ons.

He scored just one goal in his first 27 appearances in all competitions before a hamstring injury brought his debut season at Stamford Bridge to a premature end.

The winger is also the only uncapped player on this list, having only played for England at Under-21 level.

11= Noni Madueke – £52m

Year: 2025

Chelsea recouped the money they spent on Gittens by selling Madueke to Arsenal for the exact same transfer fee.

The deal was initially met with backlash from some Arsenal supporters, but he has since proven to be a valuable understudy to Bukayo Saka.

“I’m very pleased with him since the day that he came, his attitude, the energy that he’s brought to the team,” Mikel Arteta said. “[He’s] another kind of threat, his capacity to play [on the] right and left and his skillset is different to what we had.”

The winger registered eight goals and four assists in all competitions in his debut season, helping the Gunners win the Premier League and reach the Champions League final.

9. Mason Mount – £60m

Manchester United made their move for Mount after it became clear that the Chelsea academy graduate would not be signing a contract renewal at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea rejected three bids from United before accepting a fourth offer of £55million upfront and an additional £5million in bonuses.

The 27-year-old midfielder has endured an injury-plagued start to his United career, making just 32 starts in all competitions in the last three seasons.

Even when fit, he finds himself behind Bruno Fernandes in the pecking order for the No.10 role at Old Trafford.

8. Dominic Solanke – £65m

Year: 2024

After Solanke netted 19 Premier League goals for Bournemouth in 2023/24, Tottenham identified the striker as their long-term successor to Harry Kane.

Spurs paid an initial £55million but the £10million in add-ons took the overall package to £65million, which matched the value of his release clause.

The striker scored 16 goals and registered eight assists in 45 appearances in his debut season in north London and also helped the club win the Europa League, ending their 17-year wait for a trophy.

But he struggled with injury problems in the 2025/26 season as Spurs narrowly avoided relegation to the Championship.

7. Eberechi Eze – £67.5m

Year: 2025

Having gone from strength to strength at Crystal Palace, Eze found himself at the centre of a transfer battle between Arsenal and Tottenham.

The midfielder ultimately picked a move to the Gunners, who agreed to pay Palace an initial £60million and another £7.5million in potential add-ons.

He has arguably usurped Martin Odegaard in Arteta’s team and registered 16 direct goal involvements in 2025/26, including five goals against Tottenham.

Alongside Madueke, the England international also picked up a Premier League winner’s medal at the end of his debut season at the Emirates.

6. Jadon Sancho – £73m

Year: 2021

The aforementioned Sancho developed into one of the best young players in the world during his time at Borussia Dortmund.

Manchester United eventually agreed to pay the Bundesliga side a £73million fee to end a year-long pursuit of the England international.

But he failed to replicate his Dortmund form in a United shirt, registering just 12 goals and six assists in 79 appearances in all competitions.

The winger was sent out on loan to Dortmund, Chelsea and Aston Villa and now looks set to leave Old Trafford on a free transfer.

5. Harry Maguire – £80m

Year: 2019

Maguire shot to prominence with his performances at the 2018 World Cup and joined Manchester United a year later in an £80million deal, which made him the world’s most expensive defender.

The centre-back made a strong start to his United career and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer gave him the captain’s armband in January 2020.

But his form nosedived in the 2021/22 season, and he became a figure of ridicule after making a series of calamitous errors.

The 32-year-old was stripped of the captaincy by Erik ten Hag and United accepted a £30million bid from West Ham in the summer of 2023, but he stayed at Old Trafford and is now a key player under Michael Carrick.

4= Harry Kane – £100m

Year: 2023

To: Bayern Munich

Tottenham reluctantly agreed to sell Kane to Bayern Munich in order to avoid losing their all-time leading goalscorer on a free transfer.

The deal could eventually be worth £100million including add-ons, with Bayern spending an initial £86.4million on the striker.

He’s since ended his career-long trophy drought by winning two Bundesliga titles and a DFB-Pokal, while also picking the European Golden Shoe in both 2023/24 and 2025/26.

The England captain now has 146 goals and 33 assists in 147 appearances in all competitions for Bayern.

“He is a great character, a great player,” honorary Bayern president Uli Hoeness said in 2025. “It speaks for the German record champions that such personalities find a home at FC Bayern.

“Ultimately, it makes no difference that he is definitely the most expensive purchase in the club’s history. He is worth every euro.”

4= Jack Grealish – £100m

Year: 2021

To: Manchester City

Grealish became the first nine-figure English player after Manchester City triggered the £100million release clause in his Aston Villa contract.

The 30-year-old has since collected three Premier League winners’ medals and was an integral part of their treble-winning campaign in 2022/23.

But his role in the team diminished over the following two seasons, and he spent the 2025-26 season on loan at Everton.

2. Declan Rice – £105m

Year: 2023

Arsenal fought off competition from Manchester City to sign Rice from West Ham United in a deal worth an initial £100million and another £5million in potential add-ons.

The 27-year-old has justified the price tag with his performances over the last three seasons and is now regarded as one of the best midfielders in the world.

He was an ever-present throughout their Premier League title-winning campaign in 2025-26 and also led the club to their second-ever Champions League final.

“It was a big moment,” Arteta said when recalling the signing of Rice. “We were constantly sending messages, whether we want him or not.

“To the people in the organisation, to the supporters, to our opponents, that was a strong message. [It said] we are here to go to another level. We are on another level financially, we are on another level with the ambition of the players we recruited, the profile of the players.

“A big club needs to make that sort of statement.”

1. Jude Bellingham – £115m

Year: 2023

The third former Borussia Dortmund player on this list, Bellingham spent three years in Germany and his performances attracted interest from a number of Premier League clubs.

But Real Madrid won the race for his signature after agreeing to pay an initial £88.5million and another £26.5million in potential add-ons.

The England international won the LaLiga title and the Champions League in a sensational debut season and claimed third place in the 2024 Ballon d’Or rankings.

He’s since struggled with injury problems and now faces a battle for a starting spot in the England side at the 2026 World Cup.