Nottingham Forest have caught the eye for their heavy investment since promotion back to the Premier League for the 2022/23 season.
The club secured a return to England's top-flight for the first time in 23 years after a sensational season under Steve Cooper, with the club needing widespread additions to avoid an immediate return to the Championship.
The club have completed 34 signings since promotion – the most of any side in the top division – with the additions coming at a cost, with the Reds being hit with a four-point deduction for breaching the Premier League's PSR rules by £34.5m for the 2022/23 season.
Despite the huge investment, owner Evangelos Marinakis was also known for his erratic spending in the Championship, with the club splashing £13.2m on Benfica youngster Joao Carvalho.
However, it was the signing of another player a couple of years later that triggered the Reds' current financial woes…
Harry Arter's stats at Nottingham Forest
After scoring a phenomenal goal for Fulham to derail Forest's play-off push in 2019/20, the Reds decided to pursue a deal for Irish midfielder Harry Arter.
In the summer of 2020, the club agreed a £5m deal with Bournemouth for the box-to-box playmaker, with the hopes he would provide valuable experience in the club's promotion push.
However, the deal would be a complete disaster for both parties, as Arter failed to make any lasting impact under Chris Hughton during the 2020/21 season.
He would only feature a total of 14 times for the Reds, in a season where Hughton's side could only muster a 17th-placed finish after the heavy investment the summer prior.
Upon the return of supporters for 2021/22, Arter was nowhere to be in Hughton's squad, with the arrival of Cooper unable to change the former Bournemouth man's fortunes.
He would subsequently be sent out on two loans to Charlton Athletic and National League side Notts County during the promotion-winning campaign, with the Irishman only making 15 appearances over the two spells.
The failed temporary moves away from the City Ground were evidence the 34-year-old wasn't up to scratch for the Premier League-bound Reds, but to compound their misery, the promotion triggered an automatic one-year contract extension for the midfielder, keeping him on the books until the end of 2023/24.
Harry Arter's wage at Nottingham Forest
Nearly five years on from his move to the East Midlands, the flop still rakes in a reported £41k-per-week, as per Salary Sport, despite not featuring for the club since the start of 2021.
During his time with the Reds, Arter has pocketed £4.3m in wages alone, but when coupled with his £5m move, it sees the total cost of the deal rise to £9.3m – a staggering total of £664k per appearance.
Player
Weekly wage
Nicolas Dominguez
£39k-p/w
Neco Williams
£39k-p/w
Ola Aina
£34k-p/w
Danilo
£32k-p/w
Murillo
£29k-p/w
Ryan Yates
£23k-p/w
With his contract set to expire in the summer, owner Marinakis will be glad to see the back of the one-time Premier League talent who has bled him dry over the course of his time in Nottingham.
Whilst the club have had their fair share of terrible additions since promotion, Arter will undoubtedly go down as one of the Reds' worst-ever signings, with his mammoth earnings having a huge impact on the club's recent PSR breach.
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