Tottenham have been famously (or infamously) rather judicious with their spending under Daniel Levy - and when they have deigned to go big on a signing, it has not always delivered the desired results.
Spurs have had some success storied among their big signings, but a lot of their best performers in recent times have either been homegrown stars - most notably Harry Kane, who is ranked at No.7 in FourFourTwo's list of the best Premier League strikers of all time - or astute bits of scouting secured for less-than-monstrous fees.
Here's a look at the very patchy record Tottenham Hotspur have with their biggest-money signings.
Who is Tottenham Hotspur's most expensive ever signing?
Richarlison had been Everton's undisputed star for four years, hitting double figures for goals in each of his four seasons at Goodison Park. At 25 years old in summer 2022, he should have been just hitting his peak.
Unfortunately for Tottenham, the Brazilian was unable to replicate that kind of form in his first season at the club, struggling with injuries and publicly falling out with Antonio Cotnte (which isn't difficult).
The Italian's departure did not immediately help, but after struggling with mental health issues and more injuries problems, Richarlison hit a brief run of excellent form that included nine goals in just eight Premier League games. Since then, it's been pretty dry again.
Who held the Tottenham Hotspur transfer record before Richarlison?
Ah, geez, it's Tanguy Ndombele, who for our money (or rather, for Tottenham's) ranks as Spurs' worst-ever signing.
Ndombele was supposed to be the marquee signing of summer 2019 following Spurs' heartbreak in the Champions League final, but Mauricio Pochettino's swift departure meant he quickly fell out of favour and ended up spending most of his town out of the side or out on loan.
Dominic Solanke's arrival in summer 2024 equalled the amount Spurs paid for Ndombele, but of course Richarlison had already set the bar for the record that little bit higher.
Davinson Sanchez being the previous club record signing doesn't feel a huge amount better. He wasn't on Ndombele levels, of course, but he was hardly Virgil van Dijk for the club either, and spent a lot of his time at the club going in and out of the side.
The club have breached the £40m mark ten times, with Leeds United youngster Archie Gray the latest player Spurs have splashed out at least that figure to sign.
Being Tottenham, the full top ten contains a real mixed bag of players who have been genuinely good investments, others who have been total flops, and a few who sit somewhere in between.
Like a lot of the rest of the Premier League, it's heavily 2020s-centric, too, reflecting the huge inflation in transfer fees over the past five years or so.
Tottenham Hotspur's top ten most expensive players of all time
| Player | Fee | Year | Signed from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richarlison | £60m | 2022 | Everton |
| Dominic Solanke | £55m | 2024 | Bournemouth |
| Tanguy Ndombele | £55m | 2019 | Lyon |
| Brennan Johnson | £45m | 2023 | Nottingham Forest |
| Cristian Romero | £44m | 2022 | Atalanta |
| Micky van de Ven | £43m | 2023 | Wolfsburg |
| Davinson Sanchez | £42m | 2017 | Ajax |
| Archie Gray | £40m | 2024 | Leeds United |
| Pedro Porro | £40m | 2023 | Sporting |
| James Maddison | £40m | 2023 | Leicester City |
