Top 10 British clubs with most signings in a single transfer window

The list has three teams from the Premier League.

When the Covid crisis hit, it was acknowledged that clubs will withhold from spending in the transfer window. The British clubs were harsher in negotiations because of losses due to the pandemic. Fast forward two years and most of the records are smashed by Premier League clubs spending £1.9bn in signings, surpassing the previous record by £487.8m set in the 2017-18 season's transfer window.

This summer window also saw a different demography of clubs among the top spenders compared with previous years, with Nottingham Forest recording a gross spend of £150m, marking only the third time any club spent more than £100m upon promotion to the Premier League.

In this article we bring forward to you the most signings a British club has ever made in a particular transfer window.

10. Livingston F.C (2002, 16)

Livingston F.C continued its 2001 signing spree into the 2002-03 season as well by signing sixteen new players. The Lions made their European debut in the 2002/03 season, reaching the first round of the UEFA Cup. They finished 9th in the Scottish Premier League and reached the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup. Livingston even made profit of £1.54m by selling players like David Fernández and Javier Sanchez Broto to Celtic and Michael Hart to Aberdeen F.C.

Here is the list of Livingston’s 16 signings:

Julián Maidana, Kelly Berville, Fernando Pasquinelli, Burton O'Brien, David McNamee, Tom English, Alan Main, Emmanuel Dorado, Colin McMenamin, Fernando López, Emiliano Olcese, Scott McLaughlin, Eugène Dadi, Guillermo Amor, Kirk Hilton, Rolando Zárate.

9. Watford (2015, 16)

Gaining promotion to the Premier League, the 2015–16 season was the 135th year in Watford’s history. That season under manager Quique Sanchez Flores, Watford made 16 signings, building a squad with players from 22 different nationalities. The club spent around £35.7m, fifth behind the likes of Manchester United, Man City, Chelsea, and Newcastle.

The season was split into two with Watford sitting one point outside the top four during the New Year and dropping to 13th by season-end. Finishing the season with a respectable 45 points, Watford comfortably survived the drop.

Here is the list of Watford’s 16 signings:

Juanfran, Giedrius Arlauskis, Sebastian Prödl, Matěj Vydra, José Holebas, Étienne Capoue, Valon Behrami, Allan Nyom, Miguel Britos, José Manuel Jurado, Steven Berghuis, Adlène Guedioura, Obbi Oularé, Nathan Aké, Alessandro Diamanti, Víctor Ibarbo.

8. Kilmarnock (2016, 16)

The 2016/17 season was Kilmarnock's fourth season in the Scottish Premiership. Kilmarnock finished eighth that season after making a notable 16 signings. Fans were, quite simply, bewildered.

Here is the list of Kilmarnock’s 16 signings:

Scott Boyd, Dapo Kayode, Luke Hendrie, Charlee Adams, George Green, Oliver Davies, Martin Smith, Mark Waddington, Callum McFadzean, Souleymane Coulibaly, Jamie Cobain, Jordan Jones, Jonny Burn, Will Boyle, Flo Bojaj, Josh Webb.

7. Hamilton Accies (2009, 16)

In their second season after returning to the top-flight, Hamilton signed 16 players. They finished seventh with 49 points in 2009, the 123rd year in the club’s history.

Here is the list of Hamilton’s 16 signings:

Marvin Andrews, Tomáš Černý, Izzy Iriekpen, David Louhoungou, Marco Paixão, Flávio Paixão, John Paul Kissock, Luis Rubiales, Kevin Welsh, Kyle Wilkie, Leon Knight, Gary Mason, Richard Hastings, Guillaume Beuzelin, James Wesolowski, Mickaël Antoine-Curier.

6. Hamilton Accies (2018, 16)

Oh yes, they feature again! Hamilton was in its 5th consecutive season in the Scottish Premier League in 2018 after being promoted in 2014. Making nine free transfer signings and loaning in five players, the club made history and went YOLO.

They had a dreadful start to the season winning just two and drawing one in the first 10 fixtures. However, they gained momentum in the next 10 games, winning four and drawing three. Beating regelation by just one point, Accies finishing the season at 10th position (33 points in total).

Here is the list of Hamilton’s 16 signings:

Tom Taiwo, Alex Penny, Aaron McGowan, Sam Kelly, Ziggy Gordon, Steven Boyd, Álex García, Mason Enigbokan-Bloomfield, Adam Phillips, Scott Martin, Matt Kilgallon, James Keatings, Fredrik Brustad, Steve Davies, Tony Andreu, George Oakley.

5. Crystal Palace (2013, 17)

2013 was Crystal Palace’s first return to the Premier League after eight long years. Palace made the record for the most number of transfers in a single window in EPL by signing 17 players, spending just £30m. Palace smashed their transfer record as well, signing Dwight Gayle from Peterborough United for a reported £4.5 million. Furthermore, the club also signed six players on a free transfer.

Palace struggled at the beginning of the season but bounced back to finish 11th with Ian Holloway stepping down and Tony Pulis taking over as manager mid-season.

Here is the list of Palace’s 17 signings:

Adrian Mariappa, Jason Puncheon, Jerome Thomas, Dwight Gayle, Jack Hunt, Neil Alexander, Marouane Chamakh, Cameron Jerome, Adlène Guedioura, Hiram Boateng, Reise Allassani, Barry Bannan, Sullay Kaikai, Jerome Williams, Stephen Dobbie, José Campaña, Jimmy Kébé.

4. Partick Thistle (2003, 17)

It’s never a guarantee that multiple new singings will bring in positive results. That was the case with Thistle, who suffered relegation after finishing their campaign at the 12th position. The Scottish club could only muster 26 points in 38 games, losing 24 of them.

Here is the list of Partick Thistle’s 17 signings:

Cadete, Tom English, Daniele Chiarini, Jamie Langfield, Andrew Gibson, Billy Gibson, Adrian Madaschi, Stéphane Bonnes, James Grady, Paul Kaczan, John McBride, Jákup Mikkelsen, Fabrice Moreau, Grant Murray, Manny Panther, Stuart Taylor, Andy Thomson.

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3. Livingston F.C (2001, 19)

In 2001-02, Livingston F.C equalled the record set by Dundee United. Signing players with experience from the likes of Brescia, Real Madrid, Deportivo La Coruna, and Real Zaragoza for €250,000 was astute. Some were free transfers as well. This was their first season in the Scottish Premier League, having won promotion the previous season.

Livingston finished third in the competition and qualified for the UEFA Cup for the first time in their history. On the other hand, they were eliminated by Aberdeen in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup and made it to the quarter-finals of the Co-operative Insurance Cup.

Here is the list of Livingston’s 19 signings:

Gary Bollan, Massimiliano Caputo, Francisco Guinovart, Michael Hart, Stuart Lovell, Nathan Lowndes, Oscar Ramos, Philippe Brinquin, Javier Sanchez Broto, David Fernandez, Stephen Whalen, Vincent Sullivan, Steven Swift, Scott Findlay, Darren Brady, David McGuire, Paul McLaughlin, Cherif Toure Mamam, Morten Petersen.

2. Dundee United (2000, 19)

Dundee United signed 19 new faces for about £350,000 - peanuts when compared to the money involved in transfer dealings nowadays. Seven of these signings were free transfers and one was a loan deal. They managed to raid Motagua, a Honduran club, signing Gustavo Fuentes, Francisco Ramírez and Reynaldo Clavasquín in a single day.

The 2000–01 season was the 92nd year of football played by Dundee United. The team finished eleventh in the Scottish Premier League.

Here is the list of Dundee’s 19 signings:

Neil Heaney, Stephen Wright, Alphonse Tchami, Gustavo Fuentes, Francisco Ramírez, Reynaldo Clavasquín, Marcelino Galoppo, Carlos Marcora, Jim Lauchlan, Charlie Miller, Beto Naveda, Jamie Fullarton, Derek Lilley, Raúl Sánchez, Darren Brady, David McGuire, Paul Robinson.

1.Nottingham Forest (2022, 21)

Forest beat the British record for most transfers in a single window. That honour was jointly held by Livingston in the summer of 2001 and Dundee United in 2000 with 19 signings. It has been daring, unorthodox, bold, exciting, and slightly unsettling all at once. 43 years since making Trevor Francis the first £1 million footballer, Forest have spent more in a single transfer window than they had previously in their entire 157-year history. In fact, they have spent more than Barcelona, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain - upwards of £150million.

Completing three signings of Willy Boly from Wolves, Josh Bowler from Blackpool and Loic Bade (on loan) from Rennes on deadline day was maverick to say the least. It could have been four, if Michy Batshuayi’s proposed move from Chelsea had worked out. Adding to the 18 signings already completed during the transfer window, Forest managed to sign on average, one player every four days.

Significant transfers to the squad include the signing of free agent Jesse Lingard on a 110k per week contract and the club's record transfer (£42.5 million) of Morgan Gibbs-White from Wolverhampton Wanderers. 30-year-old Remo Freuler’s signing from Atalanta has added a player with Champions League experience to the squad.

Here is the list of Forest’s 21 new signings:

Morgan Gibbs-White, Emmanuel Dennis, Taiwo Awoniyi, Neco Williams, Orel Mangala, Remo Freuler, Moussa Niakhaté, Omar Richards, Brandon Aguilera, Lewis O'Brien, Giulian Biancone, Harry Toffolo, Hwang Ui-jo, Cheikhou Kouyaté, Jesse Lingard, Wayne Hennessey, Dean Henderson, Renan Lodi, Josh Bowler, Willy Boly, Loic Bade.