Why has transfer window opened early & what can each Premier League club spend?

One season may have just finished but the football does not stop, with the Club World Cup beginning on 14 June and a new mini transfer window now open.

All clubs - not just those at the revamped tournament - have been given a 10-day window to sign players before the competition begins in the United States.

The market then closes again and reopens from 16 June.

Real Madrid have already taken advantage of the early window by signing Trent Alexander-Arnold from Liverpool before the Club World Cup.

The Reds' own attention will be on a new Premier League campaign that is just 75 days away.

So which clubs will be able to splash the cash this summer as they seek to reinforce their squads, and who is running a profit and sustainability rule tightrope?

PSR limits clubs to losses of £105m over three years, with that amount reduced by £22m for each season a club are outside the top tier of English football during the cycle.

Certain expenses like infrastructure, academy, community and the cost of having a women's team are excluded from calculations.

BBC Sport crunches the numbers with football finance expert Kieran Maguire to look at how much each Premier League club will be able to spend in the transfer market, and whether there are any PSR limitations.

While Arsenal have not lifted a major trophy since winning the FA Cup in 2020, last term marked the third consecutive season in which they have finished runners-up.

The Gunners also reached the semi-finals of both the Champions League and Carabao Cup, and pressure is building to shake off the tag of nearly men.

With a £51m move for Real Sociedad and Spain midfielder Martin Zubimendi in the pipeline, manager Mikel Arteta seems intent on addressing his side's shortcomings early.

There should also be plenty of finance available for him to finally bring in a prolific centre forward to get Arsenal over the line in competitions - a bone of contention among supporters.

Record revenues of £616m in 2023-24 are likely to be exceeded thanks to the expanded Champions League format and extra broadcast revenue, while the sales of homegrown duo Emile Smith Rowe and Eddie Nketiah in the past 12 months brings about £50m of pure profit.

"As the most profitable club in Premier League history, Arsenal could easily spend over £200m in the window and have no PSR concerns," said Maguire.

"So if a striker is not signed it cannot be blamed on PSR."

Having failed to qualify for the Champions League things look less rosy at Aston Villa.

The club made a loss of £206m in the two years to 30 June 2024 and, with the £100m departure of Jack Grealish in 2021 dropping away from their PSR figures, backing Unai Emery will be far from straightforward.

Last term's run to the quarter-finals of Europe's elite club competition, along with the sales Moussa Diaby, Douglas Luiz and Jhon Duran will undoubtedly have helped.

But the Midlands club has spent more than £900m since returning to the Premier League in 2019, exceeding Uefa's 70% revenue to wages ratio every season.

"Without any outgoings, it appears Villa will be at the bottom end of the £50-100m spending range," added Maguire.

Meanwhile, Newcastle look well equipped after reaching the Champions League at Villa's expense.

Eddie Howe's side secured their first domestic trophy for 70 years in March, when beating Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final, and should be able to capitalise from the sales of Elliot Anderson, Yankuba Minteh, Lloyd Kelly and Miguel Almiron over the past 12 months.

The manner in which Arne Slot guided Liverpool to the Premier League title last term means they should be even stronger this time around.

With Federico Chiesa the only incoming transfer for a modest £10m last term, they have already signalled their intent this summer by signing Netherlands international Jeremie Frimpong, with Germany midfielder Florian Wirtz a £109m target from Bayer Leverkusen.

"Liverpool have been outside of the top 10 spenders on player signings since 2019, but their model is a classic case of being smarter rather than bigger," added Maguire.

"Contract extensions for Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk are arguably worth far more to the club than a huge investment in untried new players - they certainly have the capacity to spend £200m but whether that fits with their model is another matter."

About 40 miles across the M62, the picture painted of a financial crisis at Manchester United seems to have been overplayed by part owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

United had the highest EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) profit of any Premier League club, as well as the second highest revenues in 2023-24.

Given this cash profit is generated by the day-to-day operations of the club, it only underlines United's appeal at the turnstile to sponsors and broadcasters - despite their poor performance on the pitch.

Despite missing out on Champions League football and the additional riches it provides, by losing to Tottenham in the Europa League final, Wolves forward Matheus Cunha is seemingly set for a £62.5m move to Old Trafford.

Ipswich forward Liam Delap was in United's sights, at a price of £30m, but has chosen Chelsea, and further spending power looks to hinge on the futures of a host of players they are looking to offload.

The club will hope the likes of Tyrell Malacia, Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho and Antony can depart permanently this summer, but when and for how much will be a key consideration.

Chelsea's ability to maintain their lavish outlay on players comes with an asterisk attached.

The Blues have already assembled a squad with a value heading north of £1.4bn and will welcome a host of new exciting talent when pre-season resumes in July, with Delap set to join midfielders Kendry Paez and Dario Essugo, winger Estevao Willian, goalkeeper Mike Penders and defender Mamadou Sarr.

Sporting winger Geovany Quenda, 18, is already signed on for the following year.

But further bolstering their ranks may be determined by the Premier League's response to the sale of their women's team to parent company BlueCo for £198.7m, - a process that put the wider business into profit.

"If this is accepted by the Premier League, then Chelsea would have significant spending flexibility and another £200m is a possibility," added Maguire.

"If it is excluded, then things will be far more challenging and they may have to sell before buying."

The cloud hanging over Manchester City is in the shape of 115 charges of alleged Premier League financial rule breaches.

The outcome could result in a fine, a transfer embargo, a wage cap or a points deduction - although the club remain confident they will be fully exonerated.

"City could spend a further £200m this summer unless there is a negative result to the charges," added Maguire.

"With Kevin de Bruyne's salary coming off payroll in 2025-26 the club have plenty of leeway to invest."

Bournemouth have the lowest matchday revenue in the Premier League, with a 11,379 capacity at the Vitality Stadium.

Yet they have recruited shrewdly and the big-money sales of Dominic Solanke and Dean Huijsen during 2024-25 means they could easily part with £100m to bring in new signings.

Brentford are among the best run businesses in the league and their approach of "spotting players that other clubs have not considered, such as Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa, is likely to pay further dividends as they are attracting attention from clubs with big budgets", adds Maguire.

"The Bees have no PSR concerns and could spend up to £200m, but are unlikely to break the bank for the sake of it as this is not the way that owner Matthew Benham conducts affairs at the club."

Meanwhile, another club on the south coast, Brighton, are also in rude health heading into the next transfer window.

The Seagulls have earned £200m in profit over the previous two seasons and could repeat last summer's heavy spend of more than £200m if necessary.

However, chief executive Paul Barber has already indicated they will more likely return to their tried and tested model of bringing in relatively unheard of players from unfamiliar markets.

Brighton's biggest challenge is more likely to be keeping hold of the likes of Joao Pedro, Carlos Baleba and Kaoru Mitoma, who are all attracting admiring glances from clubs with bigger budgets.

Having been in the Championship for two years out of the past three, Burnley may need to be conservative with their PSR loss limited to £61m.

Aside from Sunderland, the Clarets are the only Premier League side yet to go above the £20m mark in a single player purchase.

The Black Cats' return to the top flight via the play-offs comes with the knowledge they will be able to reinforce significantly for the step up in class that awaits.

Enzo le Fee's loan move from Roma in January included an obligation-to-buy clause and the French midfielder could well kick-start a recruitment drive with Sunderland in good financial shape.

"Since being relegated from the Premier League in 2017, Sunderland have not spent more than £10m in a single year on player signings, despite receiving parachute payments, and they have only made losses of £18m in the last two seasons," added Maguire.

Leeds, who finished top of the second tier are in a less fortunate position.

"They will have to box clever in terms of recruitment," continued Maguire.

"Spending £100m is just about feasible."

While Everton's departure from Goodison Park was meant to herald a new dawn, they arrive at Hill Dickinson Stadium still to some extent paying for the huge contracts and big-money mistakes under former owner Farhad Moshiri.

"One marquee signing is certainly possible, especially with some players out of contract, but the chances of a series of big names is less likely," added Maguire.

"A spend of £50-£100m is the ballpark unless there are exits."

Fulham will likely find themselves with a little more in their budget, although the fact that their wages to revenue ratio is at 85% is a cause for concern.

"Owner Shahid Khan has backed the club extensively in the past and, with manager Marco Silva keen to attract new players, a £100-150m further player investment is possible," added Maguire.

Elsewhere, Nottingham Forest's qualification for Europe next season is great for fans, even if the Conference League may not necessarily swell their accounts.

Uefa only distribute 9% of the prize pot to clubs in that competition, compared to 74% for those in the Champions League.

The club have a top-10 wage budget, after establishing themselves back in the Premier League, and funds to meet the extra demands of a first European adventure for 30 years.

Tottenham will have the capacity to strengthen but still owe more than £330m in unpaid transfer fees, a considerable proportion of which are due in summer 2025.

This may prove the biggest constraint to spending for their Champions League campaign next season.

West Ham boss Graham Potter is under no illusions about what needs to be done this summer after their 14th-place finish.

The Englishman has already said he wants to trim and lower the age of his squad and should have room to manoeuvre if the owners elect to back him.

Wolves have incurred substantial losses over the past two seasons, but successful player sale profits have offset these.

"The club say they want to be more sustainable, and this could result in spending being curtailed due to owner choice rather than PSR limits," added Maguire.