Tottenham transfer news: Spurs' 10 most expensive transfers of all time

Tottenham are one of the biggest clubs in world football, yet this is not always reflected in their spending or in their position in the Premier League table.

Despite reaching the Champions League final in 2019, Spurs have been unable to establish themselves as a team to be feared domestically and they endured a 17-year trophy drought between 2008 and 2025.

They broke their duck in the Europa League under Ange Postecoglou, but it came at the expense of their league form, with the club only finishing one spot above the relegation zone. This dreadful form continued the following season.

Daniel Levy, a shrewd businessman who was reluctant to spend big, was the man calling the shots behind the scenes for a quarter of a century. He was sacked in 2025, but the club’s fortunes have yet to improve.

Below, FootballTransfers runs through Tottenham’s most expensive signings in history.

10. Archie Gray – €41.3m (from Leeds, 2024)

Tottenham beat a host of Premier League clubs to sign exciting Leeds prospect Archie Gray in the summer of 2024 in a deal that saw Joe Rodon move in the opposite direction.

Spurs triggered a release clause in the 18-year-old’s contract, having been impressed with the qualities of the youngster, who had shone for the Elland Road club at right-back and in midfield.

Gray was one of the few positives in Tottenham’s horrendous 2025/26 campaign.

9. Davinson Sanchez – €42m (from Ajax, 2017)

Colombia international Davinson Sanchez was one of the most promising young defenders in the world when Tottenham paid Ajax €42m to sign in 2017.

Spurs were banking on the fact that Sanchez would make good on his early promise to become one of the best defenders in the world, but it didn’t work out that way.

He had a tendency to lose concentration in games and, unfortunately for him, that never went away with age. He was sold to Galatasaray in the summer of 2023.

8. James Maddison- €46.3m (from Leicester, 2023)

Tottenham’s marquee signing of the 2023 summer transfer window was James Maddison from Leicester City.

Maddison had developed into one of the most creative attacking midfielders in the Premier League during his time with the Foxes, and was heavily linked with a move to Newcastle before Spurs swooped to land him.

The England international left Leicester with 96 goal contributions in 203 games and won the Premier League’s Player of the Month just weeks after joining Tottenham.

He established himself as the club’s prime offensive creator, but rotten injury luck, which included an ACL tear in 2025, has seen him spend plenty of time on the treatment table.

7. Christian Romero – €50m (from Atalanta, 2022)

Christian Romero joined Spurs on loan from Serie side Atalanta in 2021 and started 21 Premier League games as Tottenham finished above Arsenal to qualify for the Champions League in his first season in North London.

The Argentine impressed on the right of Antonio Conte’s back three and Tottenham exercised the option to make his deal permanent for €50m in the summer of 2022.

He went on to help his country win the Qatar World Cup just months after joining Spurs on a permanent deal. He extended his contract and was made captain by Thomas Frank in the summer of 2025, but he struggled to deal with the pressure of leading an ailing team.

He publicly criticised the club hierarchy on two occasions and earned himself a lengthy red card suspension at a crucial juncture of the 2025/26 season, contributing to Frank’s sacking.

6. Brennan Johnson – €55m (from Nottingham Forest, 2023)

Tottenham did the unthinkable in the summer of 2023 as they sold their record goal-scorer and club legend Harry Kane to Bayern Munich.

Needing a replacement, Spurs moved for exciting young Nottingham Forest attacker Brennan Johnson in the closing hours of the transfer window.

Although not a like-for-like replacement for Kane, Johnson had impressed in his first season in the Premier League with Forest, netting eight league goals as Steve Cooper’s side avoided relegation.

However, it was an unsuccessful deal as Johnson struggled to recapture his Forest form, and he was sold to Crystal Palace for €40m in January 2026.

5. Richarlison – €58m (from Everton, 2022)

Richarlison was keen to leave Everton after four years at the club, during which he scored 53 goals in 152 games, and his potential availability attracted the attention of Spurs, who wanted to sign an able backup for Kane.

The forward had also scored 14 goals in 36 Brazil caps at the time of his arrival at Tottenham. However, the €58m initial fee spent on Richarlison didn’t quite work out as intended.

While Richarlison has had spells of good form, he has struggled to be a reliable source of goals when it matters most, becoming something of an online meme for only scoring consolation strikes.

4. Tanguy Ndombele – €62m (from Lyon, 2019)

It was actually seen as a coup when Spurs snatched Tanguy Ndombele away from Lyon for a cool €62m in the summer of 2019.

The Frenchman had been superb for the French side during the previous season, with his performance against Barcelona at Camp Nou particularly memorable. He was a player with marvellous close control who arguably looked like he belonged on a Futsal pitch rather than a football one.

Unfortunately for Ndombele, he fell out with manager Jose Mourinho and was dropped from the starting XI for a prolonged period of time, while he has also faced accusations over his weight.

He was unable to find decent form under Nuno Espirito Santo or Antonio Conte, either, and was sent on a series of loan moves. It proved to be a disaster of a deal.

3. Mohammed Kudus – €63.8m (from West Ham, 2025)

It came as a surprise when Mohammed Kudus left Ajax for West Ham for €43m in 2023 because he had been courted by Man Utd and other Premier League giants.

He certainly made them regret not signing him in his first season in the Premier League, as he proved a brilliant acquisition for the Hammers. His second season, though, was nowhere near as successful.

Tottenham, in need of attacking reinforcements, signed him for €63.8m off the back of his second season. He was an important signing as several of Spurs’ key players were sidelined, but his promising debut season was eventually derailed by injury as well.

2. Dominic Solanke – €64.3m (from Bournemouth, 2024)

Solanke was signed as Harry Kane’s replacement 12 months after the Spurs icon left for Bayern Munich, with Ange Postecoglou’s side sparing no expense to capture the centre-forward, who was coming off a career year with Bournemouth.

He scored 19 goals for the Cherries in 38 outings – more top-flight strikes than the 26-year-old, as he was when he signed, had netted in his career before then.

Spurs were so confident, though, that he was a late bloomer that they spent what was then a club-record fee to capture his signature. Injuries, however, prevented him from showing the best version of himself in his first two seasons.

1. Xavi Simons – €65m (from RB Leipzig, 2025)

Spurs broke their transfer record – by just under €1m – when they pounced on Chelsea’s indecision to sign RB Leipzig star Xavi Simons.

The Blues had been in talks with Simons all summer but refused to cough up the money required to sign him, which allowed Tottenham to swoop in. Simons had been one of the Bundesliga’s most exciting players in his first season in the league.

However, he suffered from second-season syndrome, and that form has carried over into his Tottenham career, with the Netherlands international struggling to acclimatise to the Premier League.

The 10 most expensive Tottenham signings of all time