Once again, last summer’s spending in the Premier League was gargantuan.

Whilst it may not have hit the record £1.47b set in 2017, the top-tier’s 20 clubs still parted with an incredible £1.26b for new recruits according to the Panini Tabloid.

This included the highest fee paid for a goalkeeper being beaten not once but twice. First, Liverpool paid £67m for Allison, before Chelsea came along and gave Athletic Bilbao £71m for Spanish shot-stopper Kepa.

Overall, 129 players were signed by English teams at the highest level, a number which constituted 22 goalkeepers, 40 defenders, 51 midfielders and 16 forwards, per the Panini Tabloid.

With this year’s window well and truly underway, the question is: can Premier League clubs top last year’s number or even 2017’s record?

So far, there have been no huge deals to speak of, but that could well change in the coming months. Manchester United have been linked with West Ham defender Issa Diop, who is reportedly valued at £75m, and are also chasing a deal for Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

Tottenham, too, should also be looking to bring in new faces after not spending a single penny in the past two transfer windows. Bids have already been made for Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso.

However, the other top six clubs, who would usually be a huge source of spending in any given summer, may be a little quiet this time around.

In fact, spending for Chelsea would be completely pointless unless they overturn or postpone a two-window transfer ban, meaning they can’t actually register any players – except for last season’s loan signings Gonzalo Higuain and Mateo Kovacic – until next summer.

It also seems unlikely that Manchester City will be making many additions to their playing staff with top quality depth in most positions already. Perhaps the only exceptions will be Leicester City’s Harry Maguire, who admittedly could command a huge fee, and bargain left-back Angelino.

Jurgen Klopp isn’t planning any major signings despite being given the backing to do so, whilst Arsenal’s need to recruit after missing out on Champions League football and losing Aaron Ramsey to Juventus is negated by a paltry £45m transfer kitty.

United and Spurs will need to spend an awful lot for the Premier League to top that £1.26b if the rest of the top six are set for such quiet summers, especially with the three promoted sides unlikely to match the unprecedented £104.85m Fulham invested following their promotion in 2018.

This window may even see more superstars leaving than arriving in the Premier League. Chelsea’s Eden Hazard has already left Stamford Bridge for Real Madrid, whilst Christian Eriksen, Paul Pogba and Romelu Lukaku have all hinted at their futures laying elsewhere.

It remains to be seen how that money would potentially be invested, but all of this makes it unlikely that the spending will be record-breaking in the summer of 2019. Still, don’t expect it to be a quiet one. It is the Premier League, after all.

The Premier League Panini Tabloid is a special commemorative newspaper sticker collection celebrating the exciting new partnership between the greatest league in the world and the legendary name in football publishing, Panini. As the official collectable licensee to the Premier League, Panini are delighted to bring consumers a new era of collectables and the best collecting experience. See more here: http://bit.ly/PaniniFFCEditorial