Council tax bills set to rise at fastest rate for two decades, economist warns
Paul Johnson said that local government in England did 'perhaps a little bit better than it might have expected' out of the Chancellor's statement on Wednesday, but the 'sting in the tail' is the assumption that 'council tax bills will rise by 5% a year' as part of the funding.
The core spending power of councils is set to increase by 2.6% a year from next year, and 'if English councils do choose 5% increases – and most almost certainly will – council tax bills look set to rise at their fastest rate over any parliament since 2001-05', Mr Johnson said on Thursday.
On Wednesday, Ms Reeves said that ministers will not be 'going above' the 5% annual increases in council tax.
She told ITV: 'The previous government increased council tax by 5% a year, and we have stuck to that. We won't be going above that.
'That is the council tax policy that we inherited from the previous government, and that we will be continuing.'
The biggest winner from Wednesday's statement was the NHS, which will see its budget rise by £29 billion per year in real terms.
Ruth Curtice, the chief executive of the Resolution Foundation, has said that Britain is turning into a 'National Health State'.
Overnight, the think tank said Ms Reeves' announcements had followed a recent trend that saw increases for the NHS come at the expense of other public services.
Ms Curtice said: 'Health accounted for 90% of the extra public service spending, continuing a trend that is seeing the British state morph into a National Health State, with half of public service spending set to be on health by the end of the decade.'
Defence was another of Wednesday's winners, Ms Curtice said, receiving a significant increase in capital spending while other departments saw an overall £3.6 billion real-terms cut in investment.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) made similar arguments about 'substantial' investment in the NHS and defence coming at the expense of other departments, although Mr Johnson warned on Wednesday the money may not be enough.
In his snap reaction to the review, Mr Johnson said: 'Aiming to get back to meeting the NHS 18-week target for hospital waiting times within this Parliament is enormously ambitious – an NHS funding settlement below the long-run average might not measure up.
'And on defence, it's entirely possible that an increase in the Nato spending target will mean that maintaining defence spending at 2.6% of GDP no longer cuts the mustard.'
Ms Curtice added that low and middle-income families had also done well out of the spending review 'after two rounds of painful tax rises and welfare cuts', with the poorest fifth of families benefiting from an average of £1,700 in extra spending on schools, hospitals and the police.
She warned that, without economic growth, another round of tax rises was likely to come in the autumn as the Chancellor seeks to balance the books.
She said: 'The extra money in this spending review has already been accounted for in the last forecast.
'But a weaker economic outlook and the unfunded changes to winter fuel payments mean the Chancellor will likely need to look again at tax rises in the autumn.'
Speaking after delivering her spending review, Ms Reeves insisted she would not have to raise taxes to cover her spending review.
She told GB News: 'Every penny of this is funded through the tax increases and the changes to the fiscal rules that we set out last autumn.'
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch described rising health spending as a 'conundrum', with a similar approach having been taken 'again and again' as she spoke at a business conference in central London on Thursday morning.
In reference to a pro-Brexit campaign stunt, Mrs Badenoch said: 'I mean, who remembers the side of a red bus that said 'we're going to give the NHS £350 million more a week'?
'Many people don't know that we did that. We did do that, and yet, still we're not seeing the returns.
'We've put more and more money in, and we're getting less and less out.'
The Government have not explained how and why the NHS will be better as a result of its spending plans, the Tory leader added, and claimed the public know 'we need to start talking about productivity reforms, public sector reforms'.
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Scottish Sun
29 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Are YOU eligible for free fat jabs on the NHS? As GPs start dishing out Mounjaro – all you need to know
Our round-up also reveals what you need to do if your GP denies you a fat jab prescription and advice if you're intending on buying them privately NATIONAL JAB SERVICE Are YOU eligible for free fat jabs on the NHS? As GPs start dishing out Mounjaro – all you need to know THEY are arguably the biggest medical breakthrough of recent times. And from Monday, so-called 'fat jabs' will be made available to many more Brits on the NHS. Advertisement 5 From Monday, GPs will begin prescribing the weight-loss jab Mounjaro in the first anti-obesity rollout of its kind Credit: Getty 5 Health chiefs hope the Mounjaro rollout will turn the tide on England's obesity crisis Credit: Getty In what marks the dawn of a new era, GPs will begin prescribing the weight-loss jab Mounjaro in the first anti-obesity rollout of its kind. More than three million people are thought to be eligible for tirzepatide - the active drug in Mounjaro - the strongest jab on the market. Health chiefs hope it will turn the tide on England's obesity crisis which has seen rates double since the 1990s. Advertisement Injections including Ozempic and Wegovy have previously only been available for type 2 diabetes or through specialist slimming clinics. Family doctors will now be encouraged to prescribe them in a bid to get more people on the meds. Experts hope widespread use will slash work sick days and boost the economy, while reducing rates of cancer, heart disease and dementia. But demand for the drugs is already huge and NHS clinics cannot dish them out fast enough. Here is everything you need to know as the rollout begins: Advertisement What is Mounjaro and what has it been used for so far? 5 Studies found Mounjaro caused 20 per cent weight loss over 18 months Credit: Reuters FOR anyone who has missed the frenzy, Mounjaro, aka tirzepatide, is the newest weight loss injection used on the NHS. It has been around since 2022 and triggers fullness hormones in the gut to prevent hunger and over-eating. This works the same as older jabs Wegovy and Ozempic, all known as GLP-1 agonists, but a recent trial showed it is more effective. A head-to-head study in the New England Journal of Medicine found Mounjaro caused 20 per cent weight loss over 18 months, while semaglutide – the active ingredient in Wegovy and Ozempic – led to 14 per cent. Advertisement All the jabs were originally invented to treat type 2 diabetes but trials found they could also cause major weight loss. Pharma firms have cashed in on the discovery and UK prescriptions have skyrocketed. NHS prescriptions of Mounjaro in England surged from just 3,300 in 2023 to 1.1million last year, and more than a million people are estimated to be buying it online. Weight Loss Jabs - Pros vs Cons Who will be eligible in the new rollout? THE new rollout starting on Monday will allow GPs to prescribe tirzepatide for weight loss, starting with those patients whose weight places them at greatest health risk. Top of the list will be those with a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or higher and four weight-related health conditions. Advertisement A BMI of 40 is roughly equal to weighing 16st (102kg) for an average height 5'3' woman, or 19st 6lbs (123kg) for an average 5'9' man. Weight-related conditions include high cholesterol, high blood pressure, prediabetes, type 2 diabetes, obstructive sleep apnoea and heart disease. Patients will likely be expected to have tried diet and exercise first before being offered a jab. Many are likely to miss out, as some 13.5million adults in England are obese but only 3.4million are estimated to be eligible in the rollout. How will the rollout be run and what is new? 5 Wes Streeting wants a more widespread use of the drugs but patients must also receive check-ups Credit: Getty Advertisement WHAT'S new is that the rollout will be the first run by NHS primary care, led by GP surgeries. In theory this should make life easier for patients – but GPs will not be able to meet the huge demand. NHS bosses have admitted it will take a staggering 12 years to treat everyone who is eligible. Just 220,000 extra people are likely to get Mounjaro by 2028. Private prescriptions, costing about £100-£150 per month, already vastly outnumber that and are rising. Advertisement Health Secretary Wes Streeting wants a faster rollout and more widespread use of the drugs but patients must also receive regular check-ups and lifestyle help. Officials are investigating whether they can dish them out through pharmacies or the NHS app to take a load off GPs. Professor Jason Halford, of the European Association for the Study of Obesity, said: 'These drugs have the potential to help millions. 'If the government and NHS are serious about prevention they need to reconsider their position on the speed of the rollout of these drugs.' Professor John Deanfield, a heart doctor at University College London, added: 'These drugs provide a real opportunity to delay many diseases of ageing all at the same time and potentially transform society. Advertisement 'I hope it won't take 10 years to do something that is so needed.' What if my GP says no? 5 If you are eligible but your GP denies you a prescription, you may be able to ask for a referral to specialist weight management services Credit: Getty MANY people are expected to miss out and some surgeries are already pouring cold water on patients' hopes. Fairhill Medical Practice in Kingston upon Thames said: 'Once we are able to prescribe weight loss injections they will be offered to those with the highest medical need only, which may mean that a lot of patients will be disappointed.' Millions who meet the prescription criteria will simply have to be denied the drugs because doctors are so busy. Advertisement On top of everything else England's 6,300 doctors' surgeries have to deal with, they do not have the capacity to offer the necessary long-term supervision for millions more people at once. Experts reckon private prescriptions will rocket even more as frustrated patients give up waiting. If you are eligible but your GP denies you a prescription, you may be able to ask for a referral to specialist weight management services. Known as tier 2 and tier 3 weight management services, they may prescribe the jabs after other weight loss attempts. Many people are expected to find it easier to go private, with the injections widely available from high street pharmacies like Boots, Superdrug, and even Asda. Advertisement Olivier Picard, of the National Pharmacy Association, said: 'NHS provision won't meet demand straight away, so we fully expect that many people will continue seeking it privately.' Advice for people buying them privately BUYING the drugs online might seem like the faster fix – but buyer beware. Slimming success stories are everywhere but so, too, are tales of horror. Many patients have been duped by dodgy sellers, suffered severe side effects or even died after taking jabs they bought online. Bargain prices, easy tick-box applications, or prescriptions with no follow-up, should all be red flags to online shoppers. Advertisement Many pharmacies have been rapped for giving them away to people who do not meet the obesity criteria, potentially putting their health at risk. Dose strength is partly based on size and pretending you are fatter than you are could mean you end up with a medication too strong for your body, raising the risk of serious side effects. The most common side effects from the injections include feeling sick, vomiting, diarrhoea or other gut troubles. If not treated properly people can suffer more serious impacts like dehydration, gallstones, pancreatitis or allergic reactions – and more than 100 deaths in the UK have so far been linked to the jabs. The General Pharmaceutical Council issued new rules in February to say that all pharmacies must verify a patient's height and weight, and conduct at least a video call – if not face-to-face appointment – before prescribing weight loss injections. Advertisement Dr Emily Pegg, associate vice president at Lilly, which makes Mounjaro, said: 'This is still a prescription-only medicine, should only be prescribed by a registered healthcare professional and needs to be dispensed by a registered pharmacy. 'It is not something that people should be able to buy by just going out and going on to a social media site and clicking a button and it gets delivered to them. 'That is not appropriate and is probably illegal. 'Patient safety is a high priority.' Everything you need to know about fat jabs Weight loss jabs are all the rage as studies and patient stories reveal they help people shed flab at almost unbelievable rates, as well as appearing to reduce the risk of serious diseases. Wegovy – a modified version of type 2 diabetes drug Ozempic – and Mounjaro are the leading weight loss injections used in the UK. Wegovy, real name semaglutide, has been used on the NHS for years while Mounjaro (tirzepatide) is a newer and more powerful addition to the market. Mounjaro accounts for most private prescriptions for weight loss and is set to join Wegovy as an NHS staple this year. How do they work? The jabs work by suppressing your appetite, making you eat less so your body burns fat for energy instead and you lose weight. They do this my mimicking a hormone called GLP-1, which signals to the brain when the stomach is full, so the drugs are officially called GLP-1 receptor agonists. They slow down digestion and increase insulin production, lowering blood sugar, which is why they were first developed to treat type 2 diabetes in which patients' sugar levels are too high. Can I get them? NHS prescriptions of weight loss drugs, mainly Wegovy and an older version called Saxenda (chemical name liraglutide), are controlled through specialist weight loss clinics. Typically a patient will have to have a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher, classifying them as medically obese, and also have a weight-related health condition such as high blood pressure. GPs generally do not prescribe the drugs for weight loss. Private prescribers offer the jabs, most commonly Mounjaro, to anyone who is obese (BMI of 30+) or overweight (BMI 25-30) with a weight-related health risk. Private pharmacies have been rapped for handing them out too easily and video calls or face-to-face appointments are now mandatory to check a patient is being truthful about their size and health. Are there any risks? Yes – side effects are common but most are relatively mild. Around half of people taking the drug experience gut issues, including sickness, bloating, acid reflux, constipation and diarrhoea. Dr Sarah Jarvis, GP and clinical consultant at said: 'One of the more uncommon side effects is severe acute pancreatitis, which is extremely painful and happens to one in 500 people.' Other uncommon side effects include altered taste, kidney problems, allergic reactions, gallbladder problems and hypoglycemia. Evidence has so far been inconclusive about whether the injections are damaging to patients' mental health. Figures obtained by The Sun show that, up to January 2025, 85 patient deaths in the UK were suspected to be linked to the medicines. Future of fat jabs WHILE the Mounjaro rollout is expected to kick off with a whimper and not a bang, it is hoped it will mark the beginning of a new era in weight loss medicine. Advertisement Brits have been getting gradually fatter for decades and no medication or government policy has managed to beat the bulge. The drugs appear super-effective, reasonably priced and relatively safe, and could help millions slim down after failed diets. They are expected to reduce the risks of type 2 diabetes, cancer and dementia. And studies increasingly show they improve health in other ways on top of weight loss, too, reducing the risk of heart attacks and strokes. NHS medical director, Professor Sir Stephen Powis, believes they could one day be as transformative as cholesterol-lowering statins, which have slashed heart attacks since they were rolled out decades ago. Advertisement Prof Powis said: 'I think over time it's highly likely that these drugs will become more widespread. 'I think there will be a combination of increased evidence of positive outcomes and costs dropping, and we will learn better how to deploy them. 'This is very exciting – we're in the foothills of learning how to use them.'
The Sun
30 minutes ago
- The Sun
Are YOU eligible for free fat jabs on the NHS? As GPs start dishing out Mounjaro – all you need to know
THEY are arguably the biggest medical breakthrough of recent times. And from Monday, so-called ' fat jab s' will be made available to many more Brits on the NHS. In what marks the dawn of a new era, GPs will begin prescribing the weight-loss jab Mounjaro in the first anti- obesity rollout of its kind. More than three million people are thought to be eligible for tirzepatide - the active drug in Mounjaro - the strongest jab on the market. Health chiefs hope it will turn the tide on England's obesity crisis which has seen rates double since the 1990s. Injections including Ozempic and Wegovy have previously only been available for type 2 diabetes or through specialist slimming clinics. Family doctors will now be encouraged to prescribe them in a bid to get more people on the meds. Experts hope widespread use will slash work sick days and boost the economy, while reducing rates of cancer, heart disease and dementia. But demand for the drugs is already huge and NHS clinics cannot dish them out fast enough. Here is everything you need to know as the rollout begins: What is Mounjaro and what has it been used for so far? 5 FOR anyone who has missed the frenzy, Mounjaro, aka tirzepatide, is the newest weight loss injection used on the NHS. It has been around since 2022 and triggers fullness hormones in the gut to prevent hunger and over-eating. This works the same as older jabs Wegovy and Ozempic, all known as GLP-1 agonists, but a recent trial showed it is more effective. A head-to-head study in the New England Journal of Medicine found Mounjaro caused 20 per cent weight loss over 18 months, while semaglutide – the active ingredient in Wegovy and Ozempic – led to 14 per cent. All the jabs were originally invented to treat type 2 diabetes but trials found they could also cause major weight loss. Pharma firms have cashed in on the discovery and UK prescriptions have skyrocketed. NHS prescriptions of Mounjaro in England surged from just 3,300 in 2023 to 1.1million last year, and more than a million people are estimated to be buying it online. Weight Loss Jabs - Pros vs Cons Who will be eligible in the new rollout? THE new rollout starting on Monday will allow GPs to prescribe tirzepatide for weight loss, starting with those patients whose weight places them at greatest health risk. Top of the list will be those with a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or higher and four weight-related health conditions. A BMI of 40 is roughly equal to weighing 16st (102kg) for an average height 5'3' woman, or 19st 6lbs (123kg) for an average 5'9' man. Weight-related conditions include high cholesterol, high blood pressure, prediabetes, type 2 diabetes, obstructive sleep apnoea and heart disease. Patients will likely be expected to have tried diet and exercise first before being offered a jab. Many are likely to miss out, as some 13.5million adults in England are obese but only 3.4million are estimated to be eligible in the rollout. How will the rollout be run and what is new? 5 WHAT'S new is that the rollout will be the first run by NHS primary care, led by GP surgeries. In theory this should make life easier for patients – but GPs will not be able to meet the huge demand. NHS bosses have admitted it will take a staggering 12 years to treat everyone who is eligible. Just 220,000 extra people are likely to get Mounjaro by 2028. Private prescriptions, costing about £100-£150 per month, already vastly outnumber that and are rising. Health Secretary Wes Streeting wants a faster rollout and more widespread use of the drugs but patients must also receive regular check-ups and lifestyle help. Officials are investigating whether they can dish them out through pharmacies or the NHS app to take a load off GPs. Professor Jason Halford, of the European Association for the Study of Obesity, said: 'These drugs have the potential to help millions. 'If the government and NHS are serious about prevention they need to reconsider their position on the speed of the rollout of these drugs.' Professor John Deanfield, a heart doctor at University College London, added: 'These drugs provide a real opportunity to delay many diseases of ageing all at the same time and potentially transform society. 'I hope it won't take 10 years to do something that is so needed.' What if my GP says no? MANY people are expected to miss out and some surgeries are already pouring cold water on patients' hopes. Fairhill Medical Practice in Kingston upon Thames said: 'Once we are able to prescribe weight loss injections they will be offered to those with the highest medical need only, which may mean that a lot of patients will be disappointed.' Millions who meet the prescription criteria will simply have to be denied the drugs because doctors are so busy. On top of everything else England's 6,300 doctors' surgeries have to deal with, they do not have the capacity to offer the necessary long-term supervision for millions more people at once. Experts reckon private prescriptions will rocket even more as frustrated patients give up waiting. If you are eligible but your GP denies you a prescription, you may be able to ask for a referral to specialist weight management services. Known as tier 2 and tier 3 weight management services, they may prescribe the jabs after other weight loss attempts. Many people are expected to find it easier to go private, with the injections widely available from high street pharmacies like Boots, Superdrug, and even Asda. Olivier Picard, of the National Pharmacy Association, said: 'NHS provision won't meet demand straight away, so we fully expect that many people will continue seeking it privately.' Advice for people buying them privately BUYING the drugs online might seem like the faster fix – but buyer beware. Slimming success stories are everywhere but so, too, are tales of horror. Many patients have been duped by dodgy sellers, suffered severe side effects or even died after taking jabs they bought online. Bargain prices, easy tick-box applications, or prescriptions with no follow-up, should all be red flags to online shoppers. Many pharmacies have been rapped for giving them away to people who do not meet the obesity criteria, potentially putting their health at risk. Dose strength is partly based on size and pretending you are fatter than you are could mean you end up with a medication too strong for your body, raising the risk of serious side effects. The most common side effects from the injections include feeling sick, vomiting, diarrhoea or other gut troubles. If not treated properly people can suffer more serious impacts like dehydration, gallstones, pancreatitis or allergic reactions – and more than 100 deaths in the UK have so far been linked to the jabs. The General Pharmaceutical Council issued new rules in February to say that all pharmacies must verify a patient's height and weight, and conduct at least a video call – if not face-to-face appointment – before prescribing weight loss injections. Dr Emily Pegg, associate vice president at Lilly, which makes Mounjaro, said: 'This is still a prescription-only medicine, should only be prescribed by a registered healthcare professional and needs to be dispensed by a registered pharmacy. 'It is not something that people should be able to buy by just going out and going on to a social media site and clicking a button and it gets delivered to them. 'That is not appropriate and is probably illegal. 'Patient safety is a high priority.' Everything you need to know about fat jabs Weight loss jabs are all the rage as studies and patient stories reveal they help people shed flab at almost unbelievable rates, as well as appearing to reduce the risk of serious diseases. Wegovy – a modified version of type 2 diabetes drug Ozempic – and Mounjaro are the leading weight loss injections used in the UK. Wegovy, real name semaglutide, has been used on the NHS for years while Mounjaro (tirzepatide) is a newer and more powerful addition to the market. Mounjaro accounts for most private prescriptions for weight loss and is set to join Wegovy as an NHS staple this year. How do they work? The jabs work by suppressing your appetite, making you eat less so your body burns fat for energy instead and you lose weight. They do this my mimicking a hormone called GLP-1, which signals to the brain when the stomach is full, so the drugs are officially called GLP-1 receptor agonists. They slow down digestion and increase insulin production, lowering blood sugar, which is why they were first developed to treat type 2 diabetes in which patients' sugar levels are too high. Can I get them? NHS prescriptions of weight loss drugs, mainly Wegovy and an older version called Saxenda (chemical name liraglutide), are controlled through specialist weight loss clinics. Typically a patient will have to have a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher, classifying them as medically obese, and also have a weight-related health condition such as high blood pressure. GPs generally do not prescribe the drugs for weight loss. Private prescribers offer the jabs, most commonly Mounjaro, to anyone who is obese (BMI of 30+) or overweight (BMI 25-30) with a weight-related health risk. Private pharmacies have been rapped for handing them out too easily and video calls or face-to-face appointments are now mandatory to check a patient is being truthful about their size and health. Are there any risks? Yes – side effects are common but most are relatively mild. Around half of people taking the drug experience gut issues, including sickness, bloating, acid reflux, constipation and diarrhoea. Dr Sarah Jarvis, GP and clinical consultant at said: 'One of the more uncommon side effects is severe acute pancreatitis, which is extremely painful and happens to one in 500 people.' Other uncommon side effects include altered taste, kidney problems, allergic reactions, gallbladder problems and hypoglycemia. Evidence has so far been inconclusive about whether the injections are damaging to patients' mental health. Figures obtained by The Sun show that, up to January 2025, 85 patient deaths in the UK were suspected to be linked to the medicines. Future of fat jabs WHILE the Mounjaro rollout is expected to kick off with a whimper and not a bang, it is hoped it will mark the beginning of a new era in weight loss medicine. Brits have been getting gradually fatter for decades and no medication or government policy has managed to beat the bulge. The drugs appear super-effective, reasonably priced and relatively safe, and could help millions slim down after failed diets. They are expected to reduce the risks of type 2 diabetes, cancer and dementia. And studies increasingly show they improve health in other ways on top of weight loss, too, reducing the risk of heart attacks and strokes. NHS medical director, Professor Sir Stephen Powis, believes they could one day be as transformative as cholesterol-lowering statins, which have slashed heart attacks since they were rolled out decades ago. Prof Powis said: 'I think over time it's highly likely that these drugs will become more widespread. 'I think there will be a combination of increased evidence of positive outcomes and costs dropping, and we will learn better how to deploy them. 'This is very exciting – we're in the foothills of learning how to use them.'
Daily Mirror
38 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Arne Slot breaks golden Jurgen Klopp transfer rule by doing something he avoided
It took Arne Slot just two summer transfer windows at Liverpool to blow predecessor Jurgen Klopp out of the water in regards to transfer spend following the acquisition of Florian Wirtz Liverpool manager Arne Slot is making up for lost time this summer after opening the transfer floodgates at Anfield. And it has taken the Dutchman just a few weeks to break the rule predecessor Jurgen Klopp sought to adhere to above all others in the market. Klopp, 58, previously made a point of stressing his morals when it came to keeping Liverpool financially solvent. And that meant not necessarily spending on a par with the likes of Manchester City and Manchester United, who copped criticism from the former Reds boss for their free-spending ways in the past. Of course that changed over time as Liverpool made allowances in opening their chequebook so Klopp could compete. But the German was staunchly against spending £100million fees on individuals when he first arrived at Anfield – a line Liverpool have now crossed with the blockbuster signing of Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen in a British record deal worth up to £116m, with £100m of that being guaranteed. "If you bring one player in for £100m or whatever and he gets injured then it all goes through the chimney," Klopp warned back in 2016 after United forked out £89m to re-sign Paul Pogba from Juventus. "The day that this is football, I'm not in a job any more, because the game is about playing together. "That is why somebody invented passes so these players can play together. It's not about running with the ball because you can do it all the time. Building the group is not my unique idea – it is necessary to be successful in football. "Other clubs can go out and spend more money and collect top players, yes. Do I have to do it differently to that? I don't know exactly how much money we could spend because nobody has told me up to this point, 'No, no, no you can't do this.' "If I spend money it is because I am trying to build a real team. You can win championships, you can win titles. But maybe there is a manner in which you want it. It is about how it is." The Merseysiders have added 22-year-old Wirtz to their armoury and could have to shell out as much as £116m if certain conditions are met. And that addition means Liverpool have now spent more money in this window than any other in their history to date. Slot recruited Jeremie Frimpong (also from Leverkusen) for £29.5m earlier in the summer, while goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili has joined from Valencia for an initial £25m, along with £4m in add-ons – with that deal agreed last summer counting towards their 2025 spending. Not only that, but a £40m move for Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez is also in the pipeline. Provided the Kerkez deal goes through as expected, that would take Liverpool's total spend this summer to roughly £215m (providing all bonus clauses are met). And despite the fact the transfer window has been open for less than one month, that would far eclipse the previous record for total spend in any other window. The closest Klopp came to matching that sum was in the summer of 2018 when he spent around £170m on new signings. That included Alisson from Roma (£65m), Naby Keita from RB Leipzig (£53m), Fabinho from Monaco (£39m) and Xherdan Shaqiri from Stoke (£13.5m), though the investments paid off as they won the Champions League that season. Eventually, Klopp wasn't too far from overseeing a couple of nine-digit deals himself, considering Liverpool signed Virgil van DIjk and Darwin Nunez for £75m and £85m, respectively. Van Dijk became the most expensive defender in football history at the time of his move from Southampton, and Klopp later walked back his comments concerning exorbitant transfer fees. "These kind of things happen. When you want to sign a striker as exciting as Darwin is, that's the market and you have to pay the price," he conceded in 2023. "I said so many things in my life and life caught me then later and showed me that my imagination was obviously not clear enough for how quickly life can change. That's how it is. "After that [comment about Pogba], we bought a centre-half for quite a decent fee [£75m for Van Dijk], we bought a goalie for quite a decent fee [Alisson]. Our situation is always the same, we try to level it somehow [with sales], the things we invest in the boys and in the players we sell, it's kind of that it's not going out of any kind of range and that worked so far, but I know, I heard it immediately." To Slot's credit, he won the Premier League in his debut campaign despite barely spending at all last summer. It's only fair that one, therefore, takes into account that spread of cost, which brings his net spend to a more modest £100m or so per summer window so far.
