20 Years of NIFG - The Top 20s!
Day 25: Northern Ireland's Most Expensive Internationals
The players who commanded the highest reported or estimated fees. One transfer per player.
Please see the notes as available information is often inconsistent.
#GAWA #NornIron
20. Daniel Ballard
Arsenal to Sunderland
£2,000,000, June 2022
19. Keith Gillespie
Newcastle United to Blackburn Rovers
£2,350,000, December 1999
[Gillespie had already been valued at £1,000,000 during his transfer from Manchester United to Newcastle in January 1995 as a makeweight in a £7,000,000 move for Andy Cole]
18. Isaac Price
Standard Liege to West Bromwich Albion
£2,500,000, January 2025
[Standard Liege had paid a £400,000 development compensation fee to Everton when they signed Price in May 2023]
17. Bailey Peacock-Farrell
Leeds United to Burnley
£2,500,000, August 2019
16. Conor Washington
Peterborough United to Queens Park Rangers
£2,500,000, January 2016
[possibly up to £3,000,000]
15. Roy Carroll
Wigan Athletic to Manchester United
£2,500,000, July 2001
[previously set a club-record of £350,000 when he joined Wigan from Hull in 1997]
14. Pierce Charles
Sheffield Wednesday to Manchester City
£3,000,000, July 2026
[Previously at Manchester City's Academy. Fee could potentially reach £10,000,000 based on performances. Immediately sent on loan to QPR]
13. Chris Brunt
Sheffield Wednesday to West Bromwich Albion
£3,000,000, August 2007
[Initial £2,500,000 plus £500,000 performance-based add-ons]
12. Chris Baird
Southampton to Fulham
£3,025,000, July 2007
[Fulham manager Lawrie Sanchez gazumped Sunderland's bid of £3,000,000]
11. Kyle Lafferty
Palermo to Norwich City
£3,600,000, June 2014
[Fee undisclosed, fee of €4,500,000 reported. Previously signed by Rangers for £3m from Burnley and a reported £2.2m from FC Sion by Palermo]
10. Will Grigg
Wigan Athletic to Sunderland
£4,000,000, January 2019
[a record fee paid by a third tier club]
9. Steven Davis
Aston Villa to Fulham
£4,000,000, July 2007
[Davis was loaned to Rangers in January 2008, with the deal becoming permanent in the summer for £3,000,000]
8. Paddy McNair
Manchester United to Sunderland
£5,000,000, August 2016
[Part of a £5,500,000 joint transfer with Donald Love. In June 2018 he joined Middlesbrough for a fee of up to £5,000,000]
7. Neil Lennon
Leicester City to Celtic
£5,750,000, December 2000
6. Jonny Evans
Manchester United to West Bromwich Albion
£6,000,000, August 2015
[Undisclosed fee, reported as £6m plus up to £2m in add-ons. Joined Leicester for £3.5m in 2018]
5. George McCartney
West Ham United to Sunderland
£6,000,000, September 2008
[Had previously moved from Sunderland to West Ham for a fee of around £1m in 2006]
4. George Saville
Millwall to Middlesbrough
£8,000,000, January 2019
[Had been on loan since August 2018. Final fee between £7m-£8m, a record fee received by Millwall]
3. Ethan Galbraith
Swansea City to Stoke City
£10,200,000, July 2026
[Initial £5,000,000 plus installments and add-ons]
2. Shea Charles
Manchester City to Southampton
£10,500,000, July 2023
[Initial £10.5m potentially rising to £15m]
1. Jamal Lewis
Norwich City to Newcastle United
£13,500,000, September 2020
[fee also reported as £15m potentially rising to £20m]
More at:
nifootball.blogspot.com/2026/07/20-yea…
Visit/follow us:
#GAWA #NornIron
nifootball.blogspot.com
bsky.app/profile/jcd-ni…
x.com/jcdnifg
youtube.com/@1979jcd
@Threadreaderapp please unroll.
Share this Scrolly Tale with your friends.
A Scrolly Tale is a new way to read Twitter threads with a more visually immersive experience.
Discover more beautiful Scrolly Tales like this.