Swiss International Okafor Joins Leeds, Setting New EPL Spending Record

By Admin, August 22, 2025

The transfer of Swiss international Noah Okafor to Leeds United for a reported £18 million ($24 million) has pushed English Premier League clubs to a new single-window spending record.

The fee for the 25-year-old, who has signed a four-year deal with the club, brings the total expenditure by Premier League teams to £2.37 billion, surpassing the previous record of £2.36 billion set in the summer of 2023.

This total is expected to rise further with more than a week remaining in the transfer window.

Okafor, who has 24 international caps, rose to prominence at Austrian club RB Salzburg, where he won four league titles.

He later moved to AC Milan and also played a minor role in Napoli’s Serie A title win last season during a loan spell.

“As a kid, I dreamed of playing in the Premier League. That’s why for me it was quite an easy decision. My football suits the Premier League, this is like a dream come true. I can’t wait to step on the field.” Okafor said.

He continued, “I heard that the Premier League is the best league in the world, it’s so intense. I have loads of friends that played there or are playing there. I am ready for this new challenge.”

Okafor is reunited with former Salzburg teammate Brenden Aaronson and fellow Swiss international Isaac Schmidt at Leeds.

He recalled being impressed by the club’s fans during a pre-season friendly against Milan in Dublin.

“I was like, why are there so many fans in a friendly game? And then I saw on the screen it was like 50,000. So I was like, wow,” “It was quite loud, but I heard in the stadium [Elland Road], the atmosphere should be crazy.” he said.

Okafor is Leeds’s ninth signing since their return to the Premier League after winning the Championship.

They will face one of the title favorites, Arsenal, on Saturday, following a 1-0 victory against Everton in their season opener.

The Gunners, who also started their season with a 1-0 win over Manchester United, have not lost a home match to a newly promoted Premier League side since a 1-0 defeat to Newcastle in November 2010.

Should Arsenal avoid defeat, they would equal Chelsea’s record of 43 consecutive home matches without a loss against a new Premier League club, set between 2001 and 2015.