SAINTS contributed more than £6m to a record breaking sum paid by Premier League clubs to agents in the last year.

In total, top-flight clubs spent more than £211m on intermediaries, according to the Football Association’s annual release of fees.

The latest information includes payments made during the summer 2017 and January 2018 transfer windows and it works out that Prem clubs spent £37m more than 2017’s £174m spend.

While Liverpool, who spent £75m on buying Virgil van Dijk from Saints in January, paid the most of any club, £26.8m, Saints spent £6.296m, slightly down on last year’s £6.321m total.

“Payments included in these figures may have been made in respect of transactions entered into prior to 1 February 2017,” The FA stated.

“The total payment figure per club will, therefore, not necessarily relate directly to those transactions listed involving a Registered Intermediary which were entered into between 1 February 2017 to 31 January 2018.”

Saints had 19 transactions involving agents.

Chelsea were the second highest spenders in the top-flight with £25.1m, Manchester City were third (£23.5m), while Manchester United (£18m), Watford (£13.4m), Everton (£12.1m) and Arsenal (£10.6m) completed the top seven of spenders.

Here is the full list of fees paid to agents by Premier League clubs:

  • AFC Bournemouth: £7,733,988
  • Arsenal: £10,560,689 
  • Brighton & Hove Albion: £4,415,325 
  • Burnley: £3,299,917 
  • Chelsea: £25,143,786
  • Crystal Palace: £6,173,622
  •  Everton £12,056,512 
  • Huddersfield Town: £2,465,815
  • Leicester City: £9,918,530 
  • Liverpool: £26,793,503 
  • Manchester City: £23,475,309 
  • Manchester United: £18,002,193
  •  Newcastle United: £7,409,760 
  • SAINTS: £6,296,804
  • Stoke City: £6,241,527 
  • Swansea City: £7,317,716 
  • Tottenham Hotspur: £7,173,667
  • Watford: £13,390,605
  • West Bromwich Albion: £4,754,226
  • West Ham United: £8,387,694
  • Total: £211,011,187