Premier League clubs spent approximately £350 million (€424 million) on securing new players in the summer transfer window, according to new figures from Deloitte.
Player transfer spending was down 22 per cent on last year's transfer window.
"Premier League clubs' spending in this transfer window has been restrained at around £350m, after three years in which the clubs had spent £450 to £500m each summer," said Dan Jones, partner in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte.
"In general, an absence of new owners and clubs striving to improve their financial balance has diminished the vibrancy of the transfer market," he added.
However, Deloitte said the level of net spending - which amounts to about £190 million - was actually more than double that of summer 2009 and similar to levels spent during the 2007 and 2008 transfer windows.
Manchester City were responsible for around 36 per cent of all transfer spending over the summer months. The club spent about £125 million on securing new players including the likes of James Milner from Aston Villa and David Silva from Valencia.
Each of Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool has reportedly spent more than £25m on player acquisitions in the transfer window.
Deloitte's analysis shows the values of player transfers between Premier League clubs and from Football League clubs has reduced compared to each of 2007 to 2009, following the introduction of new regulations governing home grown players.
Premier League clubs spent approximately £70m on players from other Premier League clubs this summer. This represents 20 per cent of total transfer fees committed by Premier League clubs, compared to 48 per cent last year.
Transfer fees to overseas clubs were around £260m, up 66 per cent up on the level in summer 2009.
Gross transfer spending by top division clubs in France, Germany, Italy and Spain is also down compared to 2009; with a decline of between 25 per cent and 40 per cent in each country.
The top clubs in Italy and Spain reportedly spent around £260m and £240m respectively in the summer 2010 transfer window.
