Despite a lack of high-profile transfers, English top-flight sides still forked out a whopping €257.05m (£218.49m) during the winter window
Premier League clubs spent more than their Chinese Super League counterparts during the January transfer window.
The CSL announced itself as football's newest financial superpower 12 months ago with a stunning outlay of €344.64 million, as the likes of Hulk and Alex Teixeira left Europe for the Far East. Less cash was splashed this year (€218.79m), though, due in part to the Chinese Football Association imposing new restrictions on the use of foreign players.
However, the deals done by the CSL were arguably more significant, with Axel Witsel, a Belgium international in his prime, rejecting a move to Juventus in favour of joining Tianjin Quanjian, and Oscar leaving English champions-elect Chelsea for Shanghai SIPG for €60m, as the Chinese transfer record was smashed for the fifth time in 12 months.