English football transfer spending down 70% in January
English Premier League football clubs spent about 70% less in the January transfer window than they did last year, according to Deloitte.
The accountancy firm estimated £60m was spent on transfers during the month.
It is a sharp fall from January 2011, when the transfers of Fernando Torres and Andy Carroll alone dwarfed the whole of this year's spending.
Deloitte suggested that the lower spending was linked to new Uefa rules on financial sustainability.
"Financial fair play has definitely had an impact," said Alan Switzer, director of the sports business group at Deloitte.
"The 2011-12 season does now count towards the Uefa rules and that will be part of the consideration which clubs will be giving to any transfer."
Uefa's rules say that any club losing more than 45m euros ($59m; £37m) in the two years from July 2011 may be barred from European competitions such as the Champions League.
"It looks like economically the whole of Europe is becoming a bit more cautious," Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said.
Among the bigger deals in the transfer window, Queens Park Rangers bought Bobby Zamora from Fulham for an undisclosed sum, while Newcastle United paid an estimated £10m to buy Senegalese striker Papiss Cisse from Freiburg.
Also, Chelsea bought Gary Cahill from Bolton, and Louis Saha moved from Everton to Spurs on a free transfer.