Tim Bridge, lead partner in Deloitte's Sports Business Group, put the spending by Premier League clubs into context: "The record spending by Premier League clubs this season is beyond anything that we've seen before.

"Premier League clubs have outspent those within the rest of Europe's 'big five' leagues by almost four to one in this transfer window, allowing them to hold on to their key players, while attracting top talent from overseas.

"However, while there is a clear need to invest in squad size and quality to retain a competitive edge, there will always be a fine balance to strike between prioritising success on-pitch and maintaining financial sustainability.

"The decline in spending across the English football system is likely to be of growing concern for members of the EFL and could further fuel the debate around distributing finances more evenly across the pyramid."

Image source, BBC Sport

The British transfer record was smashed on deadline day as an unprecedented January transfer window ended with Premier League clubs having spent £2.8bn during the 2022-23 season.

Chelsea's 121m euro (£107m) deal for Benfica's Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez - once confirmed - will take the total expenditure by top-flight clubs in January to a record-breaking £815m.

While an all-time high season expenditure across both the summer and winter windows was guaranteed after a record of £1.9bn was set in September, the final total is double the previous record of £1.4bn in 2017.

The 2018 winter record spend of £430m by Premier League clubs had also already been smashed prior to Tuesday's deadline day, with the eventual total in 2023 an increase of 90% on that - and almost triple the previous January window (£295m), according to financial services firm Deloitte.

The Premier League's financial dominance in Europe increased to the highest proportion ever reported, as the spending by English top-flight clubs accounted for 79% of the total across Europe's 'big five' football leagues, where January spending fell by 35% from 2022 to €255m (£225m).

The stats being generated by Eddie Howe's high-flying Newcastle side this season are impressive.

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Now then, we've now got a vote live on who's the best transfer signing in January.

If you're using the BBC Sport app, have your say by clicking on the vote tab above. If you're on our website then pick out one of those 11 signings up on your right.

But exactly why do you think your pick will stand out? Or is there anyone you think we've overlooked?

Let us know by using #bbcfootball on Twitter, texting 81111 (UK only - standard rates apply) or via WhatsApp 03301231826.

Simon Stone
BBC Sport football reporter on BBC Radio 5 Live

It's a desperate situation for Everton. Sean Dyche has gone in there and is charged with dragging the club away from the relegation zone, but he will have to do it with the players that they had before the window.

They didn't do particularly well, so it is an interesting situation.

Everton were the Yang to Chelsea's Yin in the January transfer window.

The 19th-placed Toffees sold prize asset Anthony Gordon to Newcastle and, despite appointing former Burnley boss Sean Dyche as the club's new manager on Monday, they did not do any business on deadline day.

Guillem Balague
Spanish football journalist on Football Daily

[Chelsea's spending] is impressive, isn't it. Something that says the European Super League has arrived...and it's based in England. This is where managers want to be and where players want to be.

What has happened with the Mykhailo Mudryk case, where Chelsea have doubled the wages Arsenal were offering, that kind of thing can only happen in England.

There is no turning back. La Liga is making a big effort to maximise the potential of the competition, but it is still miles away from the Premier League.

It's something people have to accept and adapt to. If the fact that every time you bring through a player with a little bit of quality he goes to the Premier League, keep at it.

There is a limited number of players you can sign, despite what Chelsea are doing, so, yes, the other European leagues need to sell themselves in a different way.

• Listen to the full Football Daily transfer deadline day special

Image source, Getty Images

Graham Potter may have an embarrassment of riches at Stamford Bridge but now faces a difficult balancing act as Chelsea manager.

European football expert Julien Laurens makes a very good point about the competition for places in Chelsea's Champions League squad as they prepare for a last-16 tie against Borussia Dortmund later this month...

On The Football News Show, Michael Brown and Leon Osman discuss how the signings Chelsea have made in the January transfer window may put pressure on Graham Potter.

Guillem Balague
Spanish football journalist on Football Daily

No doubt there is a lot to come from Enzo Fernandez. He didn’t start the World Cup but he was absolutely crucial to Argentina winning it. It is down to reading the game.

You look at what he did during the World Cup and you think ‘really? Is that 121m euros?’

But you didn’t see the full picture. He is much more than that. He can play in any place in the midfield. He can be a holding midfielder, on the right or on the left. The stats show he increases the quality on the move, he gives the last pass and the one before the last - and he’s been scoring as well.

It’s not easy to find that kind of player that when the game goes into a really high intensity, he still displays good football.

Chelsea

The arrival of 22-year-old Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez at Stamford Bridge would take Chelsea's January spending to £288m, according to transfer website Transfermarkt.

That follows an outlay of £292m in the summer - a record for a British club in the summer window - taking their total spend under new American owner Todd Boehly to about £580m on 17 new players.

The Fernandez signing is the joint-sixth most expensive of all-time, equalling the 120m euros Barcelona paid for France forward Antoine Griezmann in 2019.

Chelsea have signed Noni Madueke, Mykhailo Mudryk, David Datro Fofana, Andrey Santos, Benoit Badiashile and Malo Gusto on permanent deals in January. They have also brought in Joao Felix on loan from Atletico Madrid.

• How can Chelsea keep spending?

Image source, BBC Sport

Ian Dennis
BBC Radio 5 Live senior football reporter

Having covered a number of Argentina games at the World Cup, at no point did you feel you were watching a £105m-plus player.

The spending now from Chelsea is a staggering, eye-watering amount of money.

And from a Benfica point of view, the profit they’ve made on this player – they signed him for 10m euros [£8.8m] last summer and he’s only made 29 appearances and scored four goals since they signed him from River Plate - what an excellent bit of business.

Benfica held their nerve because Chelsea have pursued him throughout the whole window. A bit of brinkmanship and they’ve got their rewards.

Image source, BBC Sport

Southampton's signing of Paul Onuachu from Genk for an undisclosed fee was the last confirmed transfer of deadline day, coming in at 00:30, just 10 minutes after the Saints announced a club-record deal of £22m for Rennes' Kamaldeen Sulemana.

Chelsea would trump that with a British record £107m deal for Benfica's Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez, although that transfer has still not been confirmed.

Here are five other signings made late on deadline day and when those deals were confirmed:

20:03 Jorginho [Chelsea - Arsenal] £12m

21:00 Naouirou Ahamada [Stuttgart - Crystal Palace] £9.7m

22:16 Albert Sambi Lokonga [Arsenal - Crystal Palace] Loan

22:57 Pedro Porro [Sporting Lisbon - Tottenham] Loan with obligation to buy for £40m

23:40 Harry Souttar [Stoke - Leicester] £15m, rising to £20m with add-ons

Click here for the full list of transfers made in January across the Premier League, Scottish Premiership and the English Football League, as well as some of the top international deals.

Manchester United

Another late deadline-day deal saw Manchester United complete the loan signing of Austrian midfielder Marcel Sabitzer from Bayern Munich.

The 28-year-old joins Erik ten Hag's squad until the end of the season following Christian Eriksen's long-term injury and a short-term problem for Scott McTominay.

"Sometimes in life you have to make quick and important decisions," Sabitzer said.

"From the moment I heard about this opportunity I knew it was right for me. I am a competitive player; I want to win and help the club achieve its aims this season," he added.

"I feel that I am at my peak as a player, and that I can contribute a lot of experience and energy to the squad.

"I'm excited to start with my new team-mates and manager and to show my qualities to Manchester United fans."

Image source, PA Media

Southampton

Southampton also got a couple of deals done just before the transfer window shut, which included signing Rennes and Ghana winger Kamaldeen Sulemana for a club-record fee of £22m.

The 20-year-old, who primarily plays on the left, has signed a four-and-a-half-year deal, with Saints.

Sulemana joined Rennes from Danish club Nordsjaelland in 2021 and has played 20 times this season, scoring once and providing two assists.

Saints also signed striker Paul Onuachu, 28, from Genk until 2026.