Saints have played their part in a record £725m being spent by Premier League clubs so far this summer.

A report by accountancy firm Deloitte has revealed that top-flight clubs have spent nearly three-quarters-of-a-billion pounds in the transfer window since it reopened at the end of last season.

That figure smashes last year's record spend of £630m.

Saints’ own player acquisitions this summer have contributed around £45m, while the club have also sold about £90m worth of players to other clubs in the division.

The penchant for English clubs to buy from abroad has continued, with around £475m of the current overall total going on players from overseas.

Manchester United have been the biggest spenders in the market, parting with over £130m to sign Saints defender Luke Shaw, Ander Herrera, Marcos Rojo and Angel di Maria, who joined for a British record fee of £59.7m on Tuesday.

And with plenty of time to go until Monday's 11pm deadline, further spending is expected.

Dan Jones, partner in the sports business group, a branch of Deloitte, said: “There are a number of factors contributing to this summer’s spend, including the showcase for global talent a World Cup provides.

“However, one of the main drivers of Premier League spending continues to be the increased resources clubs now have as a result of improved broadcast deals.

“Last season, the average Premier League club received around £25m more in central broadcast distributions than they did in 2012/13, which helped fuel a record transfer window last summer.

“We are again seeing Premier League clubs use these resources to contribute to what is a new record this summer.”