Premier League January transfers hit £120m

Premier League clubs have spent about £120m in the January transfer window, twice the amount they spent last year.

The transfer window closed at 11pm on Thursday after the usual frantic last day of spending, with £35m being spent on deadline day, according to Deloitte.

Queens Park Rangers, Liverpool and Newcastle accounted for more than half the total spent during the window.

League clubs can look forward to an uplift in their broadcasting revenues of £20m to £30m each from next season.

Last year's £60m Premier League spend during the January window, fell well short of 2011's record £225m.

Net spend this year, which includes money recouped on player sales, was £70m.

"Clubs have been relatively restrained in their player transfer-fee spending, in spite of the upcoming uplift in their broadcasting revenues," said Dan Jones, partner in the sports business group at Deloitte.

"Clubs are now in a reporting period that will count towards the first assessment of Uefa's financial fair play break-even requirement for international competition, and Premier League clubs are also considering the implementation of additional cost-control regulation at a domestic level."

Uefa's rules are designed to stop clubs spending more than they earn.

The transfer window for a number of other European leagues also closed on Thursday, including those in Scotland, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and Germany.

The headline-grabbing move in European football was that of unattached player David Beckham to Paris St-Germain in France.