Which teams have been the big transfer spenders in the Premier League so far? Manchester City and Chelsea lead the way...

But Manchester United and Arsenal risk being left behind as they are yet to make an impact

Fernandinho alongside Manuel Pellegrini (GETTY IMAGES)

With Manchester City set to confirm their fourth big money signing of the summer with the addition of Stevan Jovetic in the next few days, it seems Uefa’s Financial Fair Play ruling may not be as constrictive on the money-rich teams than first thought.

Ahead of the new season, which has been labelled the most wide open campaign to-date with Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea all starting with different managers than who they finished with, clubs have been trying to strengthen their squads to give them the best chance of Premier League success.

Or have they? Below we take a look at how each team has fared so far in the transfer market, and analyse whether they’re prepared to blow the bank on bringing in new faces, or whether a conservative approach has been taken in their transfer policy.

Manchester United:

Heading into the new season without Sir Alex Ferguson must be a new feeling for a lot of United fans. After all, he was with the club for 26 years. But now David Moyes has been selected as his successor, and he’ll have his eyes set on shaping his own squad at Old Trafford – or so we thought. Moyes’ only signing so far is that of Guillermo Varela, a 20-year-old Uruguayan that looks to be heading straight back to South America on loan. United have been linked heavily with a move for Cesc Fabregas after they missed out on fellow Spanish midfielder Thiago Alcantara, but that move also looks to be a no-goer as Barcelona are not willing to sell Fabregas.

Total Spent: £2.4m (Approx.)

Total Received: £0

Manchester City:

Last season’s Premier League runners-up wasted no time at all in delving into the transfer market. After just one week, new manager Manuel Pellegrini had signed Fernandinho from Shakhtar Donetsk in a £30m transfer. He followed this with the additions of £15m Jesus Navas (which could rise to £21.5 due to add-ons) and Alvaro Negredo, both from Sevilla, with the striker costing a reported £20.6m. With the seemingly imminent arrival of Stevan Jovetic, who will cost the club £27m with Fiorentina unwilling to settle for anything less than his release clause. And just when you thought the spending would be over, they were today linked with a £25.5m bid for Eduardo Salvio of Benfica. Should Salvio head to the Etihad, it will take City’s spending spree beyond £100m. They have offloaded two high-earners though, receiving £12m for striker Carlos Tevez who moved to Juventus, and £8m for Maicon who departed for Roma.

Total spent: £92.6m (Approx. and including Jovetic deal)

Total received: £20m

Chelsea:

With the returning Jose Mourinho back at the helm, Chelsea wasted little time in making their first signing. In fact, German Andre Schurrle had already met with Chelsea representatives before Mourinho’s arrival, and he was signed once the £18m fee was agreed. The announcement followed the deal of Marco van Ginkel, who joined from Vitesse Arnham for £8m. But the biggest news came when Mourinho confirmed his desire to sign Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney, with an initial bid being rejected by the Premier League champions. If a deal goes through for Rooney, it is likely to easily double the club’s expenditure so far. Chelsea also signed goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer on a free transfer.

Total spent: £26m

Total received: £2.6m

Arsenal:

Having signed Yaya Sanogo from Auxerre after his contract expired (Arsenal had to pay a small compensation fee) they went about trying to secure the signing of Gonzalo Higuain for £23m. However, talks with Real Madrid appear to have reached a stalemate as there has been little progress on the deal for the last few weeks. Arsenal switched their attention to Liverpool striker Luis Suarez but saw a £30m offer rejected, and they are currently considering whether to return with an improved offer. In terms of money spent on transfer fees, the figure remain at 0 for Arsenal, who promised so much at the beginning of the transfer window. They have unloaded Vito Mannone to Sunderland though, with an undisclosed fee thought to be around £2m. Same old Arsenal?

Total spent: £0 (+ undisclosed compensation fee for Sanogo)

Total received: £2m (Approx.)

Tottenham:

They showed their first sign of intent when they signed Brazilian midfielder Paulinho for £17m. Since then, Spurs have gone a little quiet, with their demand for a striker continuing to go unanswered, with interest in Aston Villa striker Christian Benteke so far leading to nothing with his asking price at £25m. They have been linked with a move for £18m-rated Bernard – another Brazilian currently playing for Atletico Madeira – though they face stiff competition for his signature, and have also been linked with Valencia striker Roberto Saldado, though he is also attracting attention from elsewhere. They missed out on another forward, David Villa, when he left Barcelona for Atletico Madrid for what appeared a bargain £4.4m.

Total spent: £17m

Total received: £0

Liverpool:

Liverpool are another side to be rather busy in the transfer window so far. They brought in goalkeeper Simon Mignolet from Sunderland in a £9m deal having already added defender Kolo Toure on a free after his contract with Manchester City expired. They followed up with the acquisitions of Iago Aspas for £7m, and Luis Alberto for an estimated £6.8m. They did however offload Andy Carroll to West Ham – where he spent last season on loan – in a £15m deal, and Jonjo Shelvey to Swansea for £6m, which funded the bulk of their transfer activity. The have also been linked with Bernard, but it seems their biggest task is holding on to star striker Luis Suarez.

Total spent: £22.8m

Total received £21m