Football year in review: Five costliest transfers of 2020

Bengaluru, 14: Football is a game where clubs splurge money every season and 2020 was no different.

Despite the outbreak of the pandemic, most of the top teams in Europe spent a crazy amount of money in both the winter and summer transfer window. There were not many significant deals in winter but the Summer window made it up for the calendar year.

Premier League clubs alone splurged £1.24 billion on transfers this summer, taking the total spending over the £2-billion mark over Europe's top five leagues.

These are the top five costliest transfers of the calendar year:

1. Kai Havertz (£72million)

Chelsea forked out a club-record fee for Havertz and it is not obvious to see why. He is regarded as one of the finest talents of Germany and his former Bayer Leverkusen stats speak volumes of it. He was almost courted by all the top sides in Europe before Chelsea found an agreement.

However, his start at Stamford Bridge has been anything but sensational. He has managed four goals and provided four assists in 16 appearances in all competitions. But given the talent, he possesses he would soon find the rhythm after adapting perfectly to a new environment.

2. Arthur (£64m)

In one of the most unusual transfer deals in recent thought, Barcelona allowed talented 24-year-old midfielder Arthur to leave for Juventus for £64m while contracting 30-year-old Miralem Pjanic in return for just £10m less. The Brazilian midfielder has not made much of an impact in Italy but he still has age and time on his side.

3. Victor Osimhen (£63m)

Napoli broke the club-record fee for the Lille forward in the Summer window and so far the 21-year-old Nigerian looked promising. He has two goals, and one assist to his name in six games; however, recently saw progression halted with an injury.

4. Ruben Dias (£62m)

Probably one of the best deals of 2020, the Benfica defender signed for the Cityzens in Summer and has been an ever-present member of the side who struggled for consistency at the back. City have only conceded less than a goal a game when Dias has started and at just 23-year of age there's plenty more to come.

5. Miralem Pjanic (£54million)

The Juventus midfielder changed the side which involved Arthur in a deal. He enjoyed a trophy-laden four years at Juventus and is banked on to make an immediate impact at Camp Nou. But given his and his team's performance so far, he may have to settle for limited success this year.