£442M: The Transfer-Fee Draft
Eleven signings, one number. Every player carries the most recent fee his current club paid.
In £442M you sign eleven Premier League players into a 4-4-2. Each player carries the most recent transfer fee his current club paid. Academy graduates and free transfers count as £0. Finish within £15m of £442m to win.
What counts as a player’s fee
The figure is the fee paid by the player’s current club when it signed him. If a club paid a fee for a player at youth level, that fee is used. Earlier transfers between other clubs do not count.
- Academy graduates came through the club’s own youth system and cost £0. They carry an Academy tag in the game.
- Free transfers joined at the end of a contract and also cost £0.
- Loans are not transfers, so players on loan cannot be signed.
The biggest fees in the game
The largest fees in the current data from Transfermarkt’s records (fees in euros converted at the year’s average rate):
| Player | Club | Fee | Signed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alexander Isak | Liverpool | £123.3m | Summer 2025 |
| Florian Wirtz | Liverpool | £106.3m | Summer 2025 |
| Declan Rice | Arsenal | £101.4m | Summer 2023 |
| Moisés Caicedo | Chelsea | £100.9m | Summer 2023 |
| Hugo Ekitiké | Liverpool | £80.8m | Summer 2025 |
Reported fees vary between sources, mainly because of add-ons and currency conversion. The game uses one consistent source for every player.
The arithmetic
£442m across eleven players is an average of about £40m per signing. Most squad players cost far less than that, so you will need two or three expensive signings to reach the target, balanced by cheaper players and academy graduates.
Reading the price bands
| Band | Fee range |
|---|---|
| £ | Up to £15m, including academy graduates and free transfers |
| ££ | £15m to £40m |
| £££ | £40m to £70m |
| ££££ | £70m or more |
Common questions
Do academy players count as £0 in £442M?
Yes. Players who came through their current club’s academy cost nothing and are marked Academy in the game.
Which fee is used if a player moved several times?
Only the most recent fee paid by his current club. Fees paid by previous clubs are ignored.
Why can some players not be signed?
They appear greyed out because their fee is not confirmed in the data yet, usually after a recent undisclosed move or a loan.
How close do I need to be to win?
Within £15m of £442m, above or below.
Spend £442m
Sign eleven players and see how close you get.
How draft games work → · Market value explained → · What is the transfer window? →