Even Manchester City, whose £180m on five signings was responsible for almost half of the Premier League’s total £365m, only spent so much because they didn’t buy in recent windows.
The Premier League now has so much money running through it that the wealthiest clubs cannot reach the kind of fees in January that are sufficient to strong-arm those underneath.
As the window closed on Monday evening, there were only a few clubs - maybe Manchester City and Aston Villa - who were in any way satisfied with their business.
Sesko’s centrality to the German club's Champions League ambitions was potentially worth an extra £50m to Leipzig before ultimately finishing a disappointing 32nd in the league phase.
Too much is wrapped up in modern prize money, with Leipzig now desperate to return to Europe’s top table while sitting fourth in the Bundesliga in what promises to be a tantalising race involving as many as 10 teams in the battle for third and fourth behind Bayern and Leverkusen.
