The summer transfer window of European football is less than a week away from closing but Premier League clubs have already spent £1.5 billion (about $1.77 billion) signing players, beating the previous record of £1.4 billion (about $1.65 billion) in 2017, according to finance company Deloitte.

"The record levels of spending that we've seen in this summer transfer window so far provides a sign that the business models of Premier League clubs are rebounding post-COVID," Chris Wood, assistant director in Deloitte's Sports Business Group, said "while this is encouraging, the importance of clubs establishing responsible and sustainable spending policies cannot be overstated."

What the English top clubs have spent during the 2022 summer window is already bigger than the entire transfer expenditure in 2021, which was £1.4 billion (about $1.65 billion).

Last year, only eight players were signed for over 30 million pounds (about $35.3 million) by Premier League teams. By contrast, 14 players have cost the clubs that landed them more than that number during the summer window in 2022. The major deals included:

Liverpool acquired Uruguayan striker Darwin Nunez from Benfica for as much as £85 million (about $100.5 million); Chelsea introduced Spanish left-back Marc Cucurella from Brighton for £63 million (about $74.5 million), English striker Raheem Sterling from Manchester City for £50 million  (about $59.1 million) and Senegalese center-back Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli for £34 million (about $40.2 million).

City landed Norwegian striker Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund for £51.2 million (about $60.6 million); Manchester United signed Brazilian midfielder Casemiro from Real Madrid for up to £70 million (about $82.8 million); Tottenham Hotspur introduced Brazilian striker Richarlison from Everton for reportedly £60 million (about $71 million).

The record spending number on transfers by Premier League for the whole year is £1.86 billion (about $2.20 billion) during the 2017-18 season. The summer window will close on September 1, meaning there is still time for clubs to break it.