Every Premier League Club’s Most Valuable Starting 11 (Ranked)

The Premier League is widely considered to be the elite division on the planet, with some of the world’s best players taking the field each week across several clubs. That’s to be expected given the outlay of cash spent in each transfer window, making the Premier League consistently the biggest league spenders on the continent.

The division’s financial might is no longer restricted to the so-called ‘Big Six’. An ever-growing torrent of TV revenue ensures that clubs outside the traditional elite are now able to name several multi-million-pound signings.

Here’s a look at every Premier League club’s most valuable lineup, based on estimations from Transfermarkt, offering a snapshot in time of each team’s costliest starting XI. While the expansion of wealth has trickled down the division, there is still a yawning gulf between the top and bottom of the Premier League.

20 Ipswich Town – £22m

Date: 2nd March 2024

A record which will surely be shattered as soon as Kieran McKenna’s side lines up for their first game of the 2024/25 Premier League season, Ipswich Town’s golden vintage arrived during a triumphant Championship campaign. Fresh from finishing as League One runners-up, the Tractor Boys completed the rare feat of back-to-back promotions in 2024.

Ipswich’s ascent has not been driven by high-profile players. The most valuable member of McKenna’s squad during the 2023/24 campaign was Leif Davis, a 24-year-old left-back who had arrived from Leeds United one year earlier for the grand sum of £1m. Like so many of his undervalued colleagues, Davis defied his price tag to produce an impressive campaign, delivering an unrivalled 18 league assists.

19 Southampton – £167m

Date: 15th April 2023

Southampton pivoted hard towards a youth-based transfer strategy ahead of an ultimately doomed 2022/23 campaign. The Saints stuffed the squad with promising talents who had high resale value but little top-flight experience. After finishing rock-bottom, Southampton were forced to cash in on some of those assets.

Few on the south coast could have imagined how much Chelsea were willing to pay for Romeo Lavia. After just one season of senior football, the Blues splashed £58m on the Belgian midfielder. James Ward-Prowse was one of the few experienced heads in Southampton’s relegation campaign, but ended his 20-year association with the club to sign a deal worth £30m for West Ham United.

18 Nottingham Forest – £177m

Date: 18th August 2023

Nottingham Forest’s most valuable starting 11 came at the beginning of the 2023/24 campaign. It was their second successive season in the Premier League after surviving the previous term, so naturally, the club were further into the process of building a sustainable squad, boasting a plethora of talented and valuable players.

The East Midlands outfit fielded an XI worth £177m against Sheffield United and it was enough to secure a 2-1 victory over the division’s newcomers. Morgan Gibbs-White was the most valuable player on that summer afternoon, followed by the exciting young winger Brennan Johnson, who later departed for Tottenham Hotspur in a £47.5m deal.

17 Bournemouth – £182m

Date: 29th February 2020

Bournemouth’s starting XI against Chelsea back in February 2020 was worth £182m in market value, making it the club’s most expensive lineup in Premier League history. The Cherries, managed by Eddie Howe at the time, drew 2-2 with Frank Lampard’s Chelsea and had two players, Jefferson Lerma and Joshua King, on the scoresheet worth a combined total of £38.5m.

Nathan Ake was their most expensive player that afternoon, followed by Ryan Fraser and Callum Wilson, who were both priced at £25.6m each. Despite a glut of talented players, Bournemouth suffered relegation to the second tier, having finished in 18th, one point adrift of 17th-placed Aston Villa.

16 Fulham – £190m

Date: 27th April 2024

Fulham’s most valuable team came during the 2023/24 season when they played host to Crystal Palace, though, the £190m-rated XI were held to a 1-1 draw. Future Bayern Munich man, Joao Palhinha, was far and away the Cottagers’ most valuable player. The midfield enforcer had established himself at international level with Portugal and was widely regarded as one of the best defensive midfielders across the division.

Paradoxically, Fulham’s star performer at the time was one of the least valuable players in Marco Silva’s starting XI. Rodrigo Muniz – rated at just £8.5m – broke the deadlock against Palace that day, extending his blistering hot streak to nine goals in 13 games.

15 Brighton – £219m

Date: 15th April 2023

Roberto De Zerbi’s named a Brighton and Hove Albion starting line-up worth £219m against Chelsea during the 2022/23 season. The Seagulls secured a 2-1 victory at Stamford Bridge – although both goals were scored by substitutes, Danny Welbeck and Julio Enciso.

Moises Caicedo was Brighton’s most valuable player on the day with a market value of £47.1m. Within a matter of months, the astute south-coast club managed to extract a British transfer-record fee worth £115m out of Chelsea for the Ecuadorian midfielder. Alexis Mac Allister (rated at £35.9m) and Robert Sanchez (£27.4m) also appeared in that decisive fixture before moving on in the summer for princely sums. De Zerbi’s stacked side ended up finishing sixth and qualified for European football for the first time in their history.

14 Brentford – £221m

Date: 27th April 2024

The financial realities at Brentford have been transformed by Premier League football. When Thomas Frank’s side lined up for their first-ever game in England’s top-flight, the “bus stop in Hounslow” – to use the words of their self-deprecating manager – was worth a combined £93.1m. That collection of well-drilled players infamously defeated Arsenal, setting the tone for their extended stay in the Premier League.

By the end of the 2023/24 campaign, the value of Brentford’s starting lineup had more than doubled to £221m. Six of the outfielders that started against Everton in April 2024 also lined up in that famous victory over Arsenal three years earlier, but their valuation had exploded. Ivan Toney is a prime example, rocketing up to an estimation of £42.1m by attracting interest from Manchester United and many others.

13 Crystal Palace – £237m

Date: 25th November 2023

Crystal Palace’s most expensive line-up came back in November 2023 when they suffered a 2-1 defeat to Premier League newcomers Luton Town. The Eagles’ most valuable player, Michael Olise, netted a sublime solo effort that afternoon which was later recognised as the club’s goal of the month. The fleet-footed wide player was courted by most of the division’s elite throughout much of his time at Selhurst Park before ultimately moving to Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich in the summer of 2024.

The side under the stewardship of Roy Hodgson also possessed the dazzling talents of Eberechi Eze, who had a market value of £41m, Marc Guehi and Cheick Doucoure, who were both priced at £29.9m. Oliver Glasner replaced Hodgson in February 2024 and was never able to call upon the same costly starting lineup, but still guided the Eagles into the top half of the Premier League table.

12 Wolves – £249m

Date: 9th April 2021

Nuno Espirito Santo was able to field a Wolverhampton Wanderers lineup worth £249m during the 2020/21 season. The multi-million pound XI made the trip to west London to face Fulham at Craven Cottage and £35m-rated winger Adama Traore netted the winner. Wolves’ most expensive player on the pitch was Ruben Neves, who had a market value of £42.8m. The Portuguese maestro went on to make a £47m move to Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal over two years later following a marvellous near six-year stay in the West Midlands.

Despite the financial figures, this Wolves side was arguably not as impressive as the 2019/20 iteration. Boasting a fully fit Raul Jimenez and box-crashing Matt Doherty, Nuno led a team with a proudly Portuguese core to seventh place in the Premier League as well as the Europa League quarter-finals.

11 Everton – £290m

Date: 22nd November 2020

Everton’s most valuable line-up came back in November 2020 when they made the trip to Craven Cottage to face newly-promoted Fulham. Carlo Ancelotti was the manager at the time, and he oversaw a 3-2 victory, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin, worth £34.2m, on the scoresheet twice before £21m-rated midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure added the third. Former Real Madrid playmaker James Rodriguez was in the XI and among the most valuable players on the pitch for the Toffees, with a market value of £29.9m.

Everton ended the campaign in 10th, level on points with ninth-placed Leeds United. The Merseyside club haven’t bettered that finish or points tally since.

10 West Ham United – £298m

Date: 12th March 2023

West Ham United’s most expensive lineup was fielded during the 2022/23 season against Aston Villa while they were inside the relegation zone. The £298m-rated XI drew 1-1 with Unai Emery’s side after Said Benrahma’s penalty cancelled out Ollie Watkins’ opener. The vital point was enough to move the Hammers above the perforated line on goal difference, with Bournemouth dropping into 18th.

Club captain Declan Rice was the most valuable player on the pitch, and he would depart that summer to Arsenal for a reported fee worth £105m. Before arriving as the Gunners’ record signing, Rice became the first West Ham skipper since Bobby Moore to lift a European trophy for the club, signing off with a triumphant appearance in the Europa Conference League final.

9 Leicester City – £329m

Date: 21st December 2019

Leicester City spent 312 consecutive days inside the Premier League’s top four throughout the 2019/20 campaign before ending the season with an agonising fifth-place finish, narrowly missing out on lucrative Champions League qualification. The Foxes had plenty of money on the pitch.

Three years on from the most surprising title triumph in football history, Leicester boasted a crop of highly valued players. When Brendan Rodgers took his £329m-rated team to the home of Manchester City in December 2019, they sat above the defending Premier League champions in second place. Pep Guardiola’s hosts would ultimately win 3-1 and Leicester suffered a painful collapse at the tail-end of the campaign.

8 Newcastle United – £340m

Date: 19th August 2023

Since Newcastle United’s takeover in October 2021, the club has added an extra layer of quality across the squad, so it is no surprise to see their most expensive XI assembled during the 2023/24 campaign, a season after qualifying for the Champions League.

Eddie Howe fielded a lineup worth £340m against treble-winners Manchester City and his most valuable players were Alexander Isak and Bruno Guimaraes, both of whom had a market value of £59.9m. Sandro Tonali, who had signed from Milan for £55m that summer, was the third-most expensive player for the Magpies but only made six more Premier League appearances before his season was ended by a 10-month ban for gambling.

7 Aston Villa – £351m

Date: 13th May 2024

Aston Villa’s most valuable line-up came at the end of a glorious 2023/24 season. By the time Liverpool arrived at Villa Park in May 2024, duking out a helter-skelter 3-3 draw, Unai Emery’s side had begun to wane. But the accomplishments of a richly talented – with an emphasis on rich – squad would last for years to come.

This adventurous iteration of the Villans won 15 consecutive league matches in front of their own fans, the longest such sequence in the club’s 149-year history. This imperious home form provided the foundations for Aston Villa’s fourth-place Premier League finish, bringing the highest level of European club football to Villa Park for the first time since 1983.

6 Manchester United – £490m

Date: 11th September 2021

Manchester United’s most valuable starting XI came during Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s reign when his side thumped Newcastle United 4-1 at Old Trafford. Perhaps most notably, it was Cristiano Ronaldo’s first game back in United colours after re-signing from Juventus and the legendary forward netted twice. 36 at the time, the Portugal international had a market value of £38.4m.

Jadon Sancho, who arrived that summer from Borussia Dortmund in a deal worth a reported £73m, was United’s most valuable player, clocking in at £85.4m. Bruno Fernandes, Paul Pogba and Raphael Varane also featured in a team doomed to finish in a lowly sixth place.

5 Tottenham Hotspur – £532m

Date: 27th October 2019

Tottenham Hotspur’s line-up against Liverpool back in October 2019 had a total market value of £532m, though, it suffered a 2-1 defeat to the eventual title-winners. Spurs’ most expensive player Harry Kane (£128m) netted the opener within the first minute before Jordan Henderson levelled not long after half-time and Mohamed Salah converted his 75th-minute spot kick to secure a vital three points. Christian Eriksen, who clocked in at £85.4m, ranked second as Tottenham’s most valuable player followed by Dele (£76.9m).

The north Londoners ended up finishing sixth that season. Just one year on from reaching the final – which they also lost to Liverpool – Tottenham’s most expensive team ever failed to qualify for the Champions League for the first time since the 2014/15 campaign. Money is no guarantee of success.

4 Chelsea – £560m

Date: 28th April 2019

Maurizio Sarri fielded a Chelsea XI worth £560m when they travelled to Old Trafford to face Manchester United in April 2019. Marcos Alonso cancelled out Juan Mata’s opener in the 1-1 draw, leaving the west Londoners firmly in the top four, two points ahead of fifth-placed Arsenal. Eden Hazard was the priciest Chelsea player on the pitch with a swollen valuation of £128m, followed by N’Golo Kante (£85.3m) and Jorginho (£55.5m).

Hazard certainly lived up to his theoretical pricetag that term, racking up career-best tallies of 16 goals and 15 assists in the Premier League. The fleet-footed winger joined Real Madrid that summer for a colossal £89m plus £60m in potential add-ons and emphatically failed to deliver throughout four injury-riddled years.

3 Arsenal – £682m

Date: 23rd December 2023

Arsenal’s most expensive lineup came during the 2023/24 season against Liverpool at Anfield. Mikel Arteta’s XI was valued at £682m and their 22-year-old winger Bukayo Saka clocked in at £102m, making him their most expensive player on the pitch. The Gunners secured a 1-1 draw and retained their spot at the summit of the Premier League table. £51m-rated Gabriel Magalhaes headed home the opening goal before Mohamed Salah found the equaliser in the 29th minute.

This costly set of players shone against the division’s elite, collecting an unrivalled 22 points from 10 league games against the other members of the so-called ‘Big Six’ without losing a single encounter. But slip-ups in contests with sides from further down the table cost the Gunners, who finished as runners-up to Manchester City for the second season on the spin.

2 Manchester City – £756m

Date: 5th February 2024

Pep Guardiola fielded a Manchester City XI worth £756m during a 3-1 away victory against Brentford in the 2023/24 season. The Spaniard’s most valuable player that evening was Norweigan striker Erling Haaland, who had a market value of £153m, followed by academy graduate Phil Foden, who was priced at £93.8m. The left-footed playmaker netted a second-half hat-trick for the Cityzens and certainly proved his value that evening.

Rodri, like Foden, was also valued at £93.8m and given his importance to City, that’s certainly a fair price tag. The imposing defensive midfielder came fifth in the 2023 Ballon d’Or rankings and established himself as one of the favourites to claim that illustrious crown in 2024.

1 Liverpool – £827m

Date: 24th February 2020

Liverpool’s lineup at home to West Ham United during the 2019/20 season was valued at £827m, making it the most expensive XI ever fielded in Premier League history. From top to bottom, the lineup was littered with quality, so it was no surprise to see them lift the title at the end of the campaign.

Sure enough, Jurgen Klopp’s team defeated the Hammers in a thrilling five-goal affair. Liverpool’s two most valuable players, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah, who both clocked in at £127.9m, found themselves on the scoresheet. The 3-2 victory at Anfield came towards the end of a record-equalling sequence of 18 consecutive Premier League wins.

Stats via Transfermarkt. Correct as of 19th July 2024.