Premier League summer spending surpasses £1B mark for first time

A milestone was hit with one day remaining in the summer transfer window.

Arsenal's signing of Shkodran Mustafi from Valencia, reportedly valued at £35 million, means that Premier League clubs have combined to spend over £1 billion during the summer transfer window for the first time in history.

The record for most money spent in a single transfer window was broken five days ago, when Manchester City's £15.4-million purchase of Claudio Bravo from Barcelona brought the total to £880 million, surpassing the £870 million that was spent by Premier League in last year's summer transfer window. The transfer also marked the fourth straight year in which a record was set for summer spending.

Comprising the largest portion of the £1 billion is Manchester United's world-record purchase of Paul Pogba from Juventus. The Red Devils opened their wallet to the tune of £89.5 million for the French midfielder, eclipsing the £85.2 million spent by Real Madrid on Gareth Bale.

Clubs have been smashing their respective transfer records throughout the summer transfer window due to the wealth of the Premier League's television deal, which is apparently valued at £5.14 billion over three seasons. Hull City became the 12th club to break its transfer record with its acquisition of Ryan Mason from Tottenham Hotspur.