Newcastle and Sunderland among Europe's top net spenders

Florian Thauvin joined Newcastle from Marseille for £12m in the summer

Sunderland and Newcastle United may be the two lowest-placed teams in the Premier League, but when it comes to splashing the cash, they are among Europe's elite.

Both clubs appear in a list of Europe's top 15 net spenders during the summer transfer window.

Newcastle's overall loss of £47.7m puts them sixth on the list, and they were only kept out of the top five by Spanish giants Real Madrid, who spent £53.5m more than they received during the summer.

The Magpies, with new manager Steve McClaren at the helm, invested heavily in a bid to prevent a repeat of last season's relegation battle, but are 19th and without a win.

Midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum, forward Aleksandar Mitrovic and winger Florian Thauvin were all signed for £12m or more, while defender Chancel Mbemba joined for a reported £8.4m.

Sunderland, who finished 16th last season and are currently bottom, are so far yet to see a positive impact from their net spend of £27.5m, which puts them 13th on the list.

Their high-profile arrivals included striker Fabio Borini and midfielder Jeremain Lens for about £8m each.

Premier League leaders Manchester City had Europe's largest negative balance of £120.1m, with Paris St-Germain second on £71.6m and Manchester United third on £67.3m.

From the list of top 15 net spenders, compiled by the Football Observatory, eight teams are from the Premier League, three from Serie A, two from La Liga, and one each from Bundesliga and the French Ligue 1.