Why do Premier League teams spend less in January?

The January transfer window closes on 2 February and barring a late flurry of business, it looks set to be another relatively quiet winter transfer period.

Premier League clubs have spent six times more in the past five summer transfer windows than they have in January.

In fact, top-flight English teams paid out a total of £10.5bn in summer windows since 2021, compared to just £1.7bn in the January equivalent.

Eight Premier League sides have opted not to buy or loan a player so far this month - including relegation threatened Wolves and Burnley.

But why are clubs so reluctant to spend mid-season?

Former Hearts sporting director and agent Joe Savage says it comes down to a number of factors when deciding to buy.

"A lot is dependent on injuries, a lot is dependent on suspensions, a lot is dependent on your league position," he explains to BBC Sport.

"But the hardest thing about January is nobody wants to lose their best players."

Manchester City spent £126m last January and another £85m this window on Marc Guehi and Antoine Semenyo, but most clubs do not have the same spending power.

Teams typically allocate the majority of their financial resources into building their squads at the start of the season, leaving little room for January acquisitions.

"I don't see how you can sort of be able to save a million pounds or leave a million pounds just for the backup for the January window because you won't want to strengthen as much as possible to abandon the current window that you're in," Savage explains.

But that does not negate the need for new signings in January, it just means the approach is different. It is instead the perfect opportunity for loan deals.

"I think you look around and everyone's looking at loans, everyone's trying to take a loan from this one or cutting short a loan that happened in the summer," Savage adds.

"We call January the loan window."

Of the five previous January windows, only three recorded a total spend of more than £100m in the Premier League. In that time, the lowest spending summer window saw clubs outlay just over £1.1bn on new signings.

While clubs have to adhere to Profit and Sustainability rules (PSR), they can amortise signings over a period of up to five years depending on a player's contract length.

But football finance expert Kieran Maguire says PSR is not the reason for the lack of transfer dealings.

"Even if I sign a player for £50 million in the January window, because the accounts are normally prepared up to the end of June, you're only going to get a five or six months worth of amortisation," he told BBC Sport.

"If that player's signed on a five-year contract, £50m over five years is £10m a year, six months from January to June is only five million pounds.

"You get £3.5m to £4m from finishing 13th instead of 14th. I don't think clubs are too worried about the cost from that point of view," he added.

Although a player's agent is looking for the best possible move for their client, there is also the bigger picture to look at.

If a player is midway through an impressive season, a move may do more harm than good, but the prospect of joining a better club can be too good to turn down.

"Part of me doesn't really want to move players that much in January because you want to see out the season," says Savage, who is now an agent.

"Especially for the goalscorers when they've scored a lot of goals, you want to have a full season. Play 35 games [and] score 30 or 40 goals, whatever it may be because it's a bigger and better window in the summer to move your players.

"That being said, if the team is fighting relegation and a team that is fighting to win the league comes in for your player, it's a no brainer, isn't it?"

Clubs also have to consider how quickly they can integrate their players. It means sporting directors often turn to low-cost signings from similar surroundings in a bid to bolster their squad.

"The January window makes it harder because you're having to move wherever you're moving from and nobody really wants to move house and move country and change their culture in the winter," Savage said.

"Especially if you're a player that doesn't speak the language, you want them to be getting English lessons or French lessons in the summer, so you can pick it up quickly. If you're asking him to do that in the January, look at the fixture list, it's chaotic."

The prospect of moving in the middle of season can be hard for players, with no pre-season or time to integrate with the squad.

Former England and Everton defender Phil Jagielka unexpectedly moved from Derby to Stoke due to the Rams' off-field financial issues in January 2022.

"It was very strange," Jagielka told BBC Sport. "I was due to play a game [but] Derby couldn't offer me anything else. It was a case of not really being sure what was going to go on, but thankfully, Stoke were interested.

"I think the deal was done probably in about 20 minutes, but for me, it wasn't so much a massive deal. I was coming towards the end of the career, but it was a bit of a strange one."

Stoke was only down the road so Jagielka's move was easier, but for others, it is not as simple.

"If you're going permanently then obviously it's literally all hands to the pump and you probably will leave the family for a month to settle yourself in and go and find out new schools, potentially new languages, new place to live," adds Jagielka.

"But there's a big support unit in most football clubs, like player liaisons. People help you look for houses, rent, stay in a hotel for a month if need be. If it's in January when you get your move, the games come thick and fast. You won't actually get to see your family anyway, even if they move down with you.

"A lot of the time, the families will stay put and a lot of work will be done behind the scenes to sort them out eventually, but normally for probably the first couple of weeks it's all about getting into your football club, getting to know your new team-mates."

A move in January can disrupt a settled dressing room, but Jagielka believes mid-season signings can also boost the playing group too.

"I think [it can be positive] because you're either trying to win something, solidify the good start you've had, or go and win a competition or qualify for a European competition."

"You're getting improvements in there to help you fulfil what your sort of goals are for the season or on the flip side, you are really struggling and you need help."

This article is the latest from BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team.