Every Premier League club’s most expensive sale of an academy product, featuring £100m Man City and Arsenal signings

In an era where ‘pure profit’ is becoming an increasingly popular phrase, Premier League clubs have been cashing in on some of the top products of their academies.

But this phenomenon isn’t entirely new and over the years there have been plenty of instances of clubs losing the brightest talents they have produced, often to clubs higher up the footballing food chain.

Here, TEAMtalk reveals the most expensive sale each of the current 20 Premier League clubs have made of an academy product.

To be included, a player must have spent at least two years in the academy, and we’re only counting their transfer away from the club in question, and not any more expensive ones further down the line.

Arsenal – Alex Iwobi

With Emile Smith Rowe recently on his way out, Arsenal have three candidates who come close to being their most expensive academy product.

Smith Rowe’s move to Fulham could eventually reach £34m, a similar value to Folarin Balogun’s move to Monaco and Alex Iwobi’s move to Everton.

Since Iwobi’s initial transfer fee was the largest (£28m, in contrast to £27m for Smith Rowe and £25.7m for Balogun), he is the player we are highlighting here.

After 15 years in the Arsenal setup and 148 senior appearances, the attacking midfielder left the club at the age of 23 in an attempt to shake off the tag of simply being a young prospect and instead aiming to earn recognition for what he could deliver.

“I always had that youngster tag at Arsenal, so hopefully with this move I am able to make a name for myself in the Premier League,” he said at the time.

Eventually reinventing himself in a more central role, Iwobi started to gain some appreciation for his performances towards the back end of his Everton career, but they still made a loss on him.

The Nigerian-born, London-raised player had just set out on what would have been his fifth season with Everton until former boss Marco Silva signed him again, taking him to Fulham in September 2023 – this time for up to £22m.

Aston Villa – Jack Grealish

Born in Birmingham, Jack Grealish joined Aston Villa’s academy at the age of six. After a loan spell at Notts County in the 2013-14 season, the attacking midfielder broke through into Villa’s first team.

Grealish gained two years of Premier League experience before Villa suffered relegation. Despite his potential, he stuck with them in the second tier, eventually playing a key role in getting them back to where they belonged three years later.

Going on to enjoy two productive seasons in the top flight with Villa, Grealish also became a full England international, having impressed with his maverick dribbling ability and creativity.

In 2021, after more than 200 appearances for Villa, Grealish became the most expensive English player in history (at the time) when Manchester City bought him by activating his £100m release clause.

After taking the number 10 shirt, Grealish initially struggled to match his Villa form for Man City, but then played 50 times in their treble-winning season of 2022-23.

Bournemouth – Sam Surridge

A Bournemouth scholar since under-15 level, Sam Surridge progressed over various loan spells before making his first-team bow in February 2019, at the age of 20.

After Bournemouth’s relegation in 2020, he played more regularly in the Championship, but he left them after that season to sign for Stoke City – where he would only last six months – for a reported fee of £5.5m.

Brentford – Chris Mepham

Originally coming through the Chelsea system before being released at the age of 14, Chris Mepham was picked up by Brentford shortly after.

He earned a long-term contract when promoted to the Brentford first team and made 48 appearances for them before earning a step up to the Premier League with Bournemouth, where he remains to this day, for £12m in January 2019.

Brighton – Ben White

Ben White’s ascension as his senior career developed was a sight to behold. Brighton, who have gained a reputation for developing talent, took him from Southampton as a 16-year-old.

Successive loan spells in League Two, League One and the Championship – latterly and most memorably with Leeds United – increased White’s potential. Brighton rejected multiple bids from Leeds after his loan spell at Elland Road and the decision paid off a year later.

After consolidating his reputation in the Premier League, Brighton cashed in on White for £50m when Arsenal came calling in 2021. His role has changed since working with Mikel Arteta, who has shifted him over to right-back, but he remains a pivotal player in the Arsenal defence.

Chelsea – Mason Mount

Just six years old when he joined Chelsea’s academy, Mason Mount earned a prominent place in the first team in 2019, when Frank Lampard took over as head coach following their spell working together at Derby County.

After having him on loan in the Championship, Lampard showed plenty of faith to Mount as a Premier League player. Not much later, he was a full England international.

In each of his first three seasons as a senior player at Chelsea, Mount made more than 50 appearances in all competitions. His time at the club included the honour of winning the Champions League under Thomas Tuchel in 2021.

However, Mount surprised Chelsea in 2023 by deciding to leave for Manchester United, who spent £55m plus £5m in add-ons for the attacking midfielder – whose debut season at Old Trafford would be hampered by injuries.

Crystal Palace – Aaron Wan-Bissaka

It didn’t take long for Aaron Wan-Bissaka to make an impression once he graduated Crystal Palace’s academy, which he had been in since the age of 11.

After a handful of appearances at the back end of the 2017-18 season, Wan-Bissaka was voted as Palace’s player of the year for 2018-19, which teed up a move to Manchester United.

The transfer cost an initial £45m plus £5m in add-ons. It was a big fee for a 21-year-old and the reaction to Wan-Bissaka’s first performances for his new club were mixed, but over time he reinforced his reputation for being one of the Premier League’s best defensive full-backs.

Everton – Anthony Gordon

Released by Liverpool at the age of 11, Anthony Gordon linked up with Everton’s academy. Eventually, the winger earned his Premier League debut in January 2020.

After a loan spell at Preston North End, Gordon became more prominent upon his return to Everton. Chelsea showed a strong interest in signing him, but ultimately it was Newcastle he moved to for £40m, rising to £45m.

Gordon handed in a transfer request to facilitate the move, much to Everton’s disdain. He hit double figures of goals for Newcastle in the 2023-24 season and earned a place in England’s Euro 2024 squad.

Around the same time, he began to be linked with Liverpool in a move that would see him go right back to where he started, but Newcastle have stood firm so far.

Fulham – Ryan Sessegnon

This one is a timely tale of a player who went full circle. Ryan Sessegnon burst onto the scene at just 16 years of age for Fulham when they were in the Championship, having initially joined their academy at under-9s level with his twin brother Steven.

Sessegnon took the Championship by storm, helping Fulham win promotion in 2018 and getting a full season of top-flight action under his belt.

Still a teenager at the time, the left-wing-back joined Tottenham for £25m. However, he struggled to impress there, and after five years has just returned to Fulham on a free transfer.

Ipswich Town – Connor Wickham

Connor Wickham became Ipswich Town’s youngest ever player when he debuted for the first team less than two weeks after his 16th birthday in 2009.

After amassing 15 goals for the club by the age of 18, the striker was in demand. Sunderland signed him for £8m in 2011 and he would score 15 goals for them as well before returning south with Crystal Palace in 2015.

Leicester City – Ben Chilwell

When Leicester City won the Premier League in 2015-16, Ben Chilwell was just finishing his development in their academy, not making a single league appearance in that remarkable campaign.

He started to break through after, though, and even appeared twice in the Champions League. In the 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons, he began to become their regular left-back, the culmination of a journey with the club that began at age 12.

In the summer of 2020, by which point he already had more than 10 England caps, Chelsea paid £45m to sign Chilwell, who would end his debut season there as a Champions League winner.

Liverpool – Neco Williams

Welsh-born Neco Williams joined Liverpool’s academy at just six years old. By the time he was 18, the right-back began to make waves in the first team, although the presence of another academy graduate – Trent Alexander-Arnold – in his position limited his opportunities.

Liverpool loaned Williams to Fulham – the same club that had taken another Welsh academy product, Harry Wilson, from them the previous summer – for six months in January 2022 and his spell in the Championship heightened interest in him.

Rather than staying with Fulham, Williams joined a different newly promoted side on a permanent basis that summer when Nottingham Forest spent £17m to buy him.

Manchester City – Cole Palmer

Eyebrows were raised when Manchester City banked £40m from the sale of Cole Palmer to Chelsea in 2023. A year later, he was being classed as one of the best signings of the season in the Premier League.

Palmer played for Man City from the under-8s, and captained their under-18s before becoming a first-team player. Pep Guardiola gave the attacking midfielder 41 appearances and there were some hopes he could follow in the footsteps of Phil Foden.

However, in search of more regular starting opportunities, Palmer joined Chelsea in 2023. Going on to score 25 goals from 45 games in his debut season and earning his first nine England caps, Palmer’s move was justified.

Manchester United – David Beckham

Many Manchester United fans have bemoaned their ability to sell players for significant fees in recent years, and the most historic entry on this list is indeed theirs, from more than 20 years ago (although it could be dislodged depending on the add-ons of the Mason Greenwood to Marseille sale).

Part of United’s famous Class of ’92, having being acquired by the club a year earlier as a 16-year-old, David Beckham became a footballing superstar in his senior career, making almost 400 appearances for the Red Devils and winning six Premier League titles with them.

The 1998-99 season, in which United famously won the treble, was the one in which Beckham made the most appearances, showing his importance at the height of their success.

In 2003, at the age of 28, Beckham left United to make an illustrious move to Real Madrid. Costing £25m, he became a Galactico signing.

The England winger spent four seasons in the Spanish capital and won LaLiga once, just before his move to MLS with LA Galaxy in 2007.

Newcastle United – Elliot Anderson

Eager to avoid sanctions from the Premier League for potential Profit and Sustainability breaches, Newcastle raised funds by selling Elliot Anderson to Nottingham Forest in June 2024.

As part of the deal, in which Anderson was valued at £35m, Forest also gave Newcastle their goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos.

The package just surpassed Newcastle’s previous record sale, of Andy Carroll to Liverpool in January 2011.

Nottingham Forest – Brennan Johnson

Son of former Nottingham Forest forward David Johnson, Brennan Johnson joined his hometown club’s academy as an eight-year-old.

After a loan spell in League One with Lincoln City, the winger set the Championship alight in the 2021-22 season, helping them win promotion via the play-offs.

Johnson then featured in all 38 of their Premier League matches in 2022-23 before joining Tottenham on transfer deadline day in September for £47.5m – a fee around three times as expensive as Forest’s previous record outgoing transfer.

Johnson’s goal tally halved in his first season with Spurs, compared to his last with Forest.

Southampton – Luke Shaw

Signed by Southampton as a seven-year-old, Luke Shaw emerged into their first team upon their return to the Premier League in 2012 and soon started to nail down the left-back role as his own.

Before turning 20, he had 60 Premier League appearances to his name and had also earned his first England caps. Cue a £30m move to Manchester United that, for a time, made him the most expensive teenager in history.

Shaw has been at Man Utd for a decade now, despite sometimes battling fitness issues. Last summer, his former academy teammate James Ward-Prowse almost matched the £30m fee Shaw went for, when joining West Ham.

Tottenham Hotspur – Harry Kane

Harry Kane lived the dream for Tottenham. In the club’s system since the age of 11, he built up experience over various loan spells, returned to become their main striker and eventually claimed the honour of being their all-time record goalscorer.

What a journey. Although there were no trophies along the way, Kane stood out as one of the best strikers in the Premier League – attracting interest from some of the competition’s other giants – and also became England’s captain.

Kane looked on course to challenge Alan Shearer’s long-standing Premier League goalscoring record until he left the English top-flight to join Bayern Munich in the summer of 2023.

It was a club-record deal for the Bundesliga giants, costing a reported £86m. However, they ironically lost their 11-year streak of winning the German title, despite Kane’s prolific adaptation to his new surroundings.

West Ham – Declan Rice

Released by Chelsea at the age of 14, Declan Rice went to West Ham and went on to become one of the Premier League’s best defensive midfielders.

Unlike many of the players mentioned here, Rice didn’t even require a loan spell away from the club that developed him to make his breakthrough. He made his competitive debut on the last day of the 2016-17 season and from the following campaign onwards, he would play regularly for West Ham.

Chelsea memorably became keen on taking Rice back after his emergence at senior level, but the Hammers stood firm. Eventually, Rice became their captain in 2022, succeeding the legendary Mark Noble, and lifted the Europa Conference League trophy with them in 2023.

A big-money move to Arsenal followed for a club-record £100m, plus £5m in add-ons. Rice became an integral player at the Emirates Stadium, playing in all 38 Premier League games of his debut Arsenal season.

Wolves – Morgan Gibbs-White

Morgan Gibbs-White joined Wolves’ setup at eight years old, and another eight years later he would be making his debut for the first team.

The attacking midfielder eventually represented Wolves 88 times, but it was a loan spell in the Championship with Sheffield United where he really earned his stripes.

A few months later, Nottingham Forest, fresh from their promotion back into the Premier League, parted with a club-record transfer fee to sign Gibbs-White.

The initial cost was reported as £25m but substantial add-ons could take the investment up to £42m in value.

Gibbs-White has found far more continuity at Molineux and his form for Wolves has caught the attention of various other clubs, who may have to pay even more than his current employers did to sign him.

READ MORE: Top 10 most expensive transfers between Premier League clubs