N'Golo Kante swapped Leicester for Chelsea in a £30m move
Premier League clubs have spent £475m in the month since the summer transfer window opened on 1 July, according to business analysts Deloitte.
The figure compares with £515m at the same stage in 2015 and an £870m outlay in the whole of the 2015 summer window.
Leroy Sane's £37m move to Manchester City, confirmed on 2 August, is not included in the figures.
Deloitte says gross outlay could rise above £1bn for the first time before the window closes on 31 August.
Manchester United could bump up the spending significantly if their reported £100m move for Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba goes through.
The Premier League starts a new £5.1bn three-year television deal this season.
"The prospect of increased revenue from the new broadcast deals next season has encouraged Premier League clubs to invest in this window in order to be as competitive as possible," said Alex Thorpe, senior manager in the sports business group at Deloitte.
"With a month of the window still to go, some significant deals in the pipeline and a number of clubs yet to enter the market, we may see another summer of record Premier League spending, possibly breaking the £1bn barrier for the first time."
Sky are paying £4.2bn and BT £960m for the rights to show live top-flight matches over the next three seasons and, as a result of the deal, each club can expect to receive between £30m and £50m from the Premier League for 2016-17.
The combined total spent by Premier League clubs over the summer and winter transfer windows last season was £1.045bn - up from £965m for 2014-15.
What have been the biggest deals?
Liverpool spent £25m to sign midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum from Championship side Newcastle
BBC Sport estimated that £300m had been spent in the first week of the summer transfer window, with Manchester United bringing in attacking midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan from Borussia Dortmund and defender Eric Bailly from Villarreal for a combined £56m.
Manchester City had signed Dortmund midfielder Ilkay Gundogan and Celta Vigo winger Nolito for about £33.8m, while Liverpool spent an estimated £34m on Southampton forward Sadio Mane.
Since then, there has been little let-up in spending as Chelsea paid Premier League champions Leicester City £30m for midfielder N'Golo Kante.
Liverpool have also been busy, drafting in midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum from Newcastle for £25m, while the Reds have sold winger Jordon Ibe to Bournemouth for £15m and midfielder Joe Allen to Stoke for £13m.
Tottenham's £11m signing of Victor Wanyama from Southampton was confirmed when the window opened on 1 July and they have also added to their ranks with the £17m arrival of striker Vincent Janssen from AZ Alkmaar.
What are the big deals we're waiting for?
Will Everton defender John Stones be playing in a different shade of blue next season?
France international Pogba's potential return to Old Trafford - the 23-year-old left the Premier League club when his contract expired in 2012 - could break the world transfer record of £85.3m that Real Madrid paid Tottenham for Gareth Bale in September 2013.
Arsenal have had a bid of 35m euros (£29.3m) for France forward Alexandre Lacazette rejected by Lyon and the Gunners will have to increase their bid if they want to sign the 25-year-old.
Chelsea reportedly want to buy back striker Romelu Lukaku, 23, from Everton - expected to cost the Stamford Bridge club £60m-£75m.
Everton could also lose England centre-back John Stones, with Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola confirming his interest in the 22-year-old, thought to be valued at £50m by his current club.
Stoke have been heavily linked with a £20m move for West Brom's 22-year-old forward Saido Berahino, while there are plenty of other top-flight clubs chasing new signings.
