Why parents are getting their kids FAKE kits for Christmas: Incredible data shows fed up fans are turning to knock offs in their droves… so, which Premier League clubs are the worst culprits?

For many football fans, Christmas is not only a time for festive cheer, carol singing and filling your face with pigs in blankets and turkey.

It is also the time to dutifully pass on a lifelong curse to the next generation, giving the game-changing gift of a football team which can never be sent back.

Many of us remember the excitement of waking up on Christmas morning and unwrapping our first shirt, before heading to the park and emulating our heroes.

An excitement which slowly wears off after years of false dawns, dodgy refereeing decisions and hopeless summer signings.

But data from Footy Accumulators has revealed that many parents are now priced out of giving the real deal and are settling for fake versions of their club’s famous kit instead, with 78 per cent more people searching for such shirts compared with 2023.

Mail Sport delves into the new wave of imitation football strips and reveals which club had the biggest surge in demand for the shirts during the Christmas period. 

Parents wanted their children to look like Bruno Fernandes will have to fork out £55

Almost three times as many people are looking up fake Arsenal shirts than earlier this year

Unsurprisingly, Manchester United lead the way for fake shirt searches between September and December – and it’s not even close.

An average of 5,910 people per month have looked up knock off kits lately despite the Red Devils’ current woes which see them stranded in 14th, despite hiring new manager Ruben Amorim last month.

This represents a whopping 392.5 per cent increase on the 1,200 searches in the months prior.

A child’s kit costs an eye-watering £55 in the United club shop. No wonder, then, that parents are turning to fakes.

Arsenal have ended up second in the Premier League two seasons in a row and that is where they lie in the knock off shirt searches stakes.

Around a third as many people (1,980) are looking up fake Gunners kit every month compared with identically-priced United versions, despite them being 11 points ahead in the league.

This is still a dramatic surge from the 680 that were searching each month from January to August.

The third most searched for fake shirts are of a black and white variety, with 1,610 people typing in Newcastle’s name on average in a bid to find some cheap deals.

Newcastle kits are the third most popular this Christmas among the fake shirt searchers

Tottenham are on rotten form but 1,250 people are still searching for imitation tops each month

Manchester City have nosedived recently under Pep Guardiola but people still want fake shirts

If kids are keen on imitating West Ham’s Crysencio Summerville it will cost parents £60

The real thing costs £55 on the website and fans are turning to knock off versions instead to show their support for Eddie Howe’s men with 419.4 per cent more doing so than the 310 earlier this year.

Completing the top four, 1,250 are searching for fake versions of the £52 Tottenham shirts every month, despite the side’s recent struggles which have seen them drop into the bottom half with four losses in their last five games.

This is a 184.1 increase on the 440 that were looking the kits up monthly earlier in 2024.

Leaders Liverpool’s fake shirts are being inquired into 1,240 times a month at the moment and, despite the real versions costing a bank-breaking £85, this is less than three times the amount (169.6 per cent) in previous months (460). A cheaper ‘stadium’ version is available for £60.

Perhaps their red-hot form, which has seen Mohamed Salah 13 goals drag them to the top, has kept fans loyal to the club shop. 

Similarly, only 150 per cent more people are looking up fake Man City shirts (1,050 versus 420) than earlier in the year.

Pep Guardiola is on the worst form of his managerial career and the champions have slipped into seventh after a nightmare run of form, but people seem to still be buying the £60 kids shirts available in the club shop.

West Ham have not kicked on under new boss Julen Lopetegui and many supporters have voted with their feet as 252.4 per cent more people are searching for fake Hammers shirts than before the Christmas period.

Thousands of kids will open Chelsea’s sponsorless shirt this Christmas after their fine start

Aston Villa shirts cost £55 for kids in the club shops but cheaper fakes are available online

Everton fans are turning towards fake versions of the home kit in their droves this Christmas

Nottingham Forest have made a remarkable run to third and 620 per cent more fans want fakes

Crystal Palace might be struggling but 190 search up knock off red and blue kits each month

Only 210 were dipping into the world of knock off kits earlier this year but this has now skyrocketed to 740 as fans move away from the £60 official shirts.

Chelsea kits are among the most expensive in the Premier League with parents having to fork out £65 to buy a kids shirt.

It is no surprise, then, that almost three times as many supporters (670 versus 210) are now turning to fake shirts over the festive season, as they look to get their children supporting Enzo Maresca’s resurgent side.

Aston Villa have had a topsy-turvy campaign, beating Bayern Munich in the Champions League before dropping down to ninth in the Premier League following a string of poor results.

Their fans have been searching for fake claret and blue tops in high numbers with 537.5 per cent more people typing this term into browsers than earlier in 2023.

Only 80 per month were looking for the knock offs of the £55 shirts from January to August, surging to 510 before Christmas.

Completing the top half of the table, 370 fans each month searched for fake Everton tops compared with just 60 in the months prior – an increase of 516.7 per cent in inquiries for imitations of the £55 items.

Nottingham Forest have arguably been the story of the season, with Nuno Espirito Santo’s men flying up to third in the league, and fake versions of their £50 kits have experienced a huge jump in demand.

No club has seen a bigger surge in fake shirt searches than Ipswich – from 10 to 90 monthly

Some 600 per cent more people want imitation Fulham kits as the Cottagers continue to shock

Jamie Vardy and Leicester have been struggling this season and fans are switching to fake kits

Brighton kids shirts cost a hefty £55 causing supporters to move to knock offs

Some 360 people are searching the kits monthly compared with just 50 before – an increase of 620 per cent. 

Similarly, more than six times (533.3 per cent) as many fans are looking up Crystal Palace kits as 190 are inquiring monthly compared with 30 earlier this year. The kids kits at Selhurst Park set supporters back £45.

The biggest leap has been among Ipswich fans with 90 monthly searches – a whopping 800 per cent surge from the mere 10 people looking them up earlier in 2024. 

To back the newly-promoted side with an official kids shirt will cost parents £43.

Fulham (600 per cent to 70 people), Leicester (double to 60), Brighton (quadrupling to 40) and Wolves (tripling to 30) have all also experienced increases in demand for knock off tops.

These sides’ kids shirts cost £60, £45, £55 and £45 respectively, justifying parents’ decision to switch to fake ones.

There has been no increase in searches for fake versions of Southampton’s home kit, with demand stagnating among fans of the league’s bottom-placed team.

The Saints’ kids shirts cost £45 and 10 people were looking up imitation versions monthly earlier this year, a number which has remained the same over Christmas. 

Wolves mauled Man United on Boxing Day but fans want knock offs of their famous old gold kit

Southampton kids kits cost £45 and a monthly average of 10 people have wanted fakes in 2024

Bournemouth have had a fine season but no one has been searching for their fake shirts

Brentford have the same home shirt as last season and a monthly average of zero want fakes

Despite shocking the rest of the league and soaring into sixth, fake Bournemouth shirts have not disturbed the Google search data during the festive season.

Incredibly, the stats suggest not a single person has looked up one of these knock off tops throughout the entirety of 2024. 

The same goes for Brentford, who once again retained their home shirt from last season.

These clubs offer kids tops for £55 and £45 respectively.