As the 2026/27 season kicks off, Europe's "Big Five" leagues are set to welcome 14 newly promoted clubs. While each has earned their place on sporting merit, they arrive in the top flight with very different squad profiles, commercial reach, and approaches to the transfer market.
Some are established names returning after brief absences, others are historic clubs rebuilding after years outside the elite, while several continue remarkable rises through the football pyramid.
Using data from Football Benchmark's Intelligence platforms, we take a look at this season's promoted clubs through a selection of indicators, including squad market value, social media following, and transfer activity before and after promotion.
A diverse group of promoted clubs
This season's promoted clubs arrive with very different recent histories. FC Schalke 04 return to the Bundesliga after a few years outside the top flight, while Deportivo de La Coruña, Málaga CF and Racing Santander all return to LaLiga, bringing clubs with long histories in Spanish football back to the top division. Coventry City are back in the Premier League after more than two decades away, while Hull City also return following a lengthy absence.
Elsewhere, SV 07 Elversberg continue one of German football's most impressive recent rises, joining Schalke and SC Paderborn 07 in the Bundesliga, while Le Mans FC and ESTAC Troyes secure promotion to Ligue 1. Ipswich Town, AC Monza, Frosinone Calcio and Venezia FC have all secured immediate returns to the top flight following relegation in 2024/25.
A significant gap in squad values
The promoted clubs also enter the 2026/27 season with markedly different squad values. Based on Football Benchmark's Player Valuation Platform update at the end of the 2025/26 season (May 2026), and therefore before any additions made during the current summer transfer window, the three clubs entering the Premier League comfortably occupy the top positions.
Ipswich Town, relegated from the Premier League only a year earlier, lead the ranking with a squad market value of €217m. Their position reflects not only the quality of the squad retained following relegation but also the financial advantages associated with recent participation in England's top flight. Even so, Ipswich's squad is worth only around one-third of the average Premier League squad at the end of the 2025/26 season (approximately €627m), illustrating the scale of the challenge newly promoted clubs face before a ball is kicked.
The differences between the promoted clubs themselves are substantial, with the highest-valued squad worth more than 22 times the lowest. Yet a common pattern emerges when they are compared with the divisions they are entering. At the end of 2025/26, every promoted club had a lower squad value than the average of the three clubs relegated from their respective top division. Venezia came closest to that benchmark, at just 2% below the average of the relegated Serie A clubs, while the remaining promoted sides faced considerably wider gaps.
While squad value alone cannot determine sporting performance, the comparison illustrates the scale of the step up facing this season's newcomers and highlights the need for significant squad strengthening during the summer transfer window.
Building and strengthening promotion-winning squads
The paths to promotion in 2025/26 varied considerably. Last season, Ipswich were comfortably the biggest investors, spending €61.1m on new players, compared with an average of around €16m across the Championship. However, following relegation from the Premier League a year earlier, they also generated €87.6m through player sales, allowing significant reinvestment while still recording a positive transfer balance of €26.6m. Venezia FC followed a similarly ambitious strategy after relegation from Serie A, investing €23.5m on new players, more than eight times the Serie B average, as they secured an immediate return to the top flight.
Elsewhere, promotion was achieved with far more restrained spending. Hull City secured promotion despite operating under a transfer ban. Le Mans also reached the top flight without spending on transfer fees, assembling a competitive squad through loans and free transfers, although replacing several temporary additions is the major challenge this summer. Racing Santander represented another contrasting model, investing €8.0m on transfer fees, more than four times the LaLiga 2 average, while broadly balancing that expenditure through player sales.
The picture has shifted considerably following promotion. As of 11 August 2026, 12 of the 14 promoted clubs had recorded a negative transfer balance during the summer window. This widespread move towards net investment follows the squad-value gap identified above, with every promoted club having ended last season with a lower-valued squad than the average of the relegated clubs in the division they are entering.
The scale of investment is particularly pronounced in England. Ipswich Town had committed €127.9m, Coventry City €100.7m, and Hull City €38.8m, meaning the three Premier League newcomers accounted for more than 70% of the group’s transfer expenditure.
Activity outside England has been more varied. Venezia have recorded €43.8m in expenditure, partly offset by €31.5m in transfer income, while Deportivo de La Coruña have committed €26.0m. ESTAC Troyes stand apart, generating €31.0m from player sales while spending only €1.7m, resulting in a positive balance of €29.3m. Le Mans, meanwhile, have yet to pay a transfer fee. With the window still open, these figures remain provisional.
Different levels of social media reach
One of the clearest differences between this season's promoted clubs is the scale of their social media audiences.
FC Schalke 04 are the standout example. Despite spending recent seasons outside the Bundesliga, they remain by far the biggest commercial brand among the promoted clubs, with 8.6 million combined followers across social media platforms. That places Schalke as the fifth most-followed club in German football, while they are also the only promoted club whose social media audience exceeds the median of clubs competing in their domestic top division. Excluding the German club, every promoted side enters their respective top division with a social media following between 68% and 95% below the median club in their domestic league.
Beyond Schalke, the ranking also highlights the enduring reach of several historic clubs returning to the top flight. Málaga, Racing Santander, and Deportivo de La Coruña all rank among the most-followed promoted sides despite lengthy periods outside LaLiga, suggesting that the audiences built during previous spells at the highest level remain significant. By contrast, clubs such as Elversberg and Paderborn arrive in the top flight with much smaller social media footprints.
The opportunity and challenge of promotion
The growing financial polarisation of European football makes the step into the top flight increasingly demanding. For promoted clubs, building a squad capable of competing often requires significant investment, particularly when entering leagues where the financial and sporting gap to established clubs can be substantial. How that investment is made and whether it can strengthen the club beyond a single season, is therefore an important part of the challenge.
At the same time, promotion creates opportunities that extend well beyond the pitch. Competing week in, week out against some of the biggest clubs in domestic and world football brings greater visibility, revenues, and commercial potential. Capitalising on that exposure, while building a squad capable of remaining competitive, will be central to how much each of these 14 clubs can ultimately gain from their return to the top flight.
Football Benchmark's intelligence platforms provide data and insights across player valuations, social media performance, club finances, talent development, and more, helping stakeholders better understand the business and competitive dynamics shaping the global game. To learn more about our platforms, research capabilities, and advisory services, contact us at info@footballbenchmark.com
