Premier League clubs made a profit in the transfer window for the first time, even though 2017 proved the most expensive January window for six years as more than £200m was spent on new players.

Late deals for Manolo Gabbiadini and Robbie Brady – who joined Southampton and Burnley in £17.1m and £13m deals respectively – helped push the total spent by Premier League clubs to £215m, second only to the record spend of £225m in 2011, according to finance analysts Deloitte.

However, while clubs were able to splash the cash largely thanks to the record TV broadcasting deal that Premier League sides benefit from, they were also able to generate large player sales that meant that for the first time in the history of the Premier League, clubs in the English top flight received more money than they spent.

The 20 clubs received around £255m in transfer fees last month, with the total figure boosted significantly by Brazil international Oscar leaving Chelsea to join Chinese side Shanghai SIPG for up to £60m.

Manchester United were also responsible for generating a large profit this month, as Jose Mourinho saw both Morgan Schneiderlin and Memphis Depay leave the club for £22m and £16m to Everton and Lyon respectively. With the club deciding not to sign any new players this month, they were able to reduce their net transfer spend this season after shelling out over £150m on Paul Pogba, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Eric Bailly last summer.

Overall, the 2016/17 season has proven the most expensive in history, with clubs spending £1.38bn on new players, though the split weighs heavily in favour of summer spending where £1.165bn was spent last year. The total beats last season’s existing record of £1.04bn.

Top 10 most expensive Premier League January transfers Show all 10 1 /10 Top 10 most expensive Premier League January transfers Top 10 most expensive Premier League January transfers 10. Morgan Schneiderlin - Manchester United to Everton Morgan Schneiderlin was the most expensive Premier League signing at £22m Getty Top 10 most expensive Premier League January transfers 9. David Luiz – Benfica to Chelsea (£21.5m) Getty Top 10 most expensive Premier League January transfers 8. Luis Suarez – Ajax to Liverpool (£22.8m) Getty Top 10 most expensive Premier League January transfers 7. Darren Bent - Sunderland to Aston Villa (reported £24m) Getty Top 10 most expensive Premier League January transfers 6. Juan Cuadrado – Fiorentina to Chelsea (£26m) Getty Top 10 most expensive Premier League January transfers 5. Wilfried Bony - Swansea to Manchester City (£27.5m) Getty Top 10 most expensive Premier League January transfers 4. Edin Dzeko – Wolfsburg to Manchester City (£31.5m) Getty Top 10 most expensive Premier League January transfers 3. Andy Carroll – Newcastle to Liverpool (£35m) Getty Top 10 most expensive Premier League January transfers 2. Juan Mata – Chelsea to Manchester United (£38m) Getty Top 10 most expensive Premier League January transfers 1. Fernando Torres – Liverpool to Chelsea (£50m) Getty

Tuesday’s deadline day ensured that Premier League spending for the season is over, but clubs can still generate more in player sales given that the Chinese transfer window does not close until 28 February. United captain Wayne Rooney and teammate Ashley Young are two of many names that have been linked with big-money moves to the Far East, although United manager Mourinho erred on the side of caution in selling the pair and hinted on Tuesday that they would both be staying with the club until the end of the season.