4 weeks ago
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PSR rules encouraging sales
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The term 'pure profit' is one that is emerging more and more when it comes to Premier League transfers. Since the division introduced it's Profit and Sustainability rules (PSR), clubs have been battling to stay on the right side of the financial restrictions and avoid being sanctioned. We have already seen both Everton and Nottingham Forest (both in the 2023/24 season) deducted points for failing to comply with the rules. One potential way around these laws has been to focus on selling academy players for 'pure profit'. In every three-season period, a Premier League club can sustain £105m (€121m) of losses before tax, before they're in breach of PSR.
Transfers in and out are the most significant figures on the PSR balance sheet and the best way to buy a player is to also sell one. Homegrown players are massively valuable because the real profit they offer in transfer fees is put as pure profit against the PSR calculation too. They're signed for nothing and can be sold for massive fees. But is this something that should be encouraged? There's not many better sights for fans than seeing 'one of their own' progress through the academy and become a first-team legend.
For years, it's been a way of truly connecting the team and the fans. Through a player who knows what the club is about. We should be incentivising keeping these players and giving them opportunities, not incentivising selling them on. With this in mind, Transfermarkt has calculated the biggest 'pure profits' made from academy sales from Premier League clubs. We have not included academy players that were bought for a fee from another club's academy. Plenty of recent deals crop up, that may well have had PSR in mind when the clubs were authorising the transaction.
Most expensive academy sales of all-time
Leading the way is none other than Jack Grealish. Having progressed through the youth ranks at Aston Villa, the Midlands clubs sold him on to Manchester City for an eye-watering €117.5 million back in 2021. In second place is Declan Rice. West Ham acquired the midfielder from Chelsea's youth ranks for nothing when he was a young teenager and sold him on to Arsenal for €116.6m in 2023. In third is Harry Kane - the only player in the top 10 sold to a foreign club. Bayern Munich forked out €95m in 2023 for the Tottenham academy product.
in fourth is Mason Mount, who was flogged to Manchester United by Chelsea for €67.7m. Given the Blues' outlandish spending in recent years, it's very likely that this sale was partly motivated by staying in line with PSR. In fifth is Brighton's €58.5m sale of academy defender Ben White to Arsenal. That's followed in sixth by Brennan Johnson leaving Nottingham Forest for Spurs for €55m. In seventh is Crystal Palace's €55m sale of full-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka to Man United, whilst eighth goes to Chelsea acquiring Leicester's academy left-back Ben Chilwell for €50.2m. In ninth is Leeds' €49m sale of midfielder Kalvin Phillips to Man City, whilst the Sky Blues' own sale of academy product, and now world superstar, Cole Palmer for €47m to Chelsea completes the top 10.
