Premier League clubs have spent an estimated £300M ($388.5M) "during the first week of the summer transfer window," according to Bibhash Dash of the BBC. By comparison, £870M was "spent during the nine weeks of last summer's window." Business analyst Deloitte "expects gross outlay to rise" above £1B ($1.3B) before the window closes on Aug. 31. Football finance expert Rob Wilson said that a new £5B ($6.5B), three-year TV deal, which starts this season, is fueling "unprecedented" spending amid "unreal" player valuations. Wilson: "There's no questioning the impact of the TV deal." Each club "can expect to receive" between £30M ($39M) and £50M ($65M) from the Premier League for '16-17 as a result of the TV contract. Wilson believes "that is driving player values through the roof." He said, "We've seen this trend, over the last two or three deals at least, but we never thought the valuations would go up that much. It's unreal." ManU has been "among the biggest spenders," reportedly paying £26M ($34M) for Borussia Dortmund attacker Henrikh Mkhitaryan and £30M for Villarreal defender Eric Bailly. Analysts said that in recent seasons, more -- and bigger -- deals "have been completed during the second half of a transfer window." Wilson said, "As we go through the window, some other teams respond, such as Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City." France int'l Paul Pogba, for example, "has been linked strongly" with a £100M ($129.5M) move to ManU (BBC, 7/9).
