The previous record, set last season, sat at £155m but yesterday’s late signings of Danny Drinkwater [£35m, Leicester to Chelsea] and Mamadou Sakho [£25m, Liverpool to Crystal Palace] helped push the total up.
The new record was also set despite a host of big-name moves failing to materialise, with the likes of Alexis Sanchez, Virgil van Dijk, Riyad Mahrez, Thomas Lemar, Diego Costa and Ross Barkley all staying put with their current clubs.
The overall European summer spending topped out at £1.4bn, another record, although that tally can still grow as the Spanish window has been extended until midnight on September 1, meaning Philippe Coutinho could still leave Liverpool for Barcelona.
Coutinho has been strongly linked with a move to the Spanish giants, although Liverpool have already rejected a £114m bid from the Catalans for their star striker.
Meanwhile, Chelsea’s Diego Costa and Leicester City’s Riyad Mahrez could also still move on with the pair also tipped with European switches before tonight’s Spanish deadline.