Football finance expert Kieran Maguire believes Newcastle United were to blame for the high-level of spending seen in the Premier League in January.
The acquisitions of Kieran Trippier, Chris Wood, Bruno Guimaraes, Dan Burn and Matt Targett on loan caused a domino effect according to Maguire.
He explained to Football Insider that when Newcastle brought a player from a Premier League club, the selling club then reinvested the money into signing another player which resulted in inflated January spending figures across the Premier League.
For context, the Newcastle were responsible for roughly £85m of the Premier League’s total outlay of £295m. In reference, the remaining four from the other top five leagues, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A and Ligue 1 all spent a combined total of £317m.
Newcastle spent big in January in order to try and find a solution to their relegation threatened position, as they sit in the bottom three and cannot afford to be relegated if they want to fulfil their new owners ambitions.
The Magpies were brought from former owner Mike Ashley earlier in the season by a Saudi-backed Public Investment Fund, who took an 80% stake in the club.
The remaining 20% is split between Amanda Staveley and the Reuben Brothers, who each own 10% of the club.