The official Premier League 2021 Panini sticker album is out now and the hunt is on to find every item in order to complete the collection.
A popular hobby among football fans since the 1970s, Panini books retain a special appeal, with seasoned collectors and fresh-faced initiates getting plenty of enjoyment from the challenge.
Whether it's a shiny red-ribboned Premier League trophy, Aston Villa's Jack Grealish or the Manchester United badge, there are hundreds of stickers to accumulate.
So, how much will it cost and how can you fill in missing players? Goal brings you everything you need to know about this season's must-have collector's item.
On this page
- How much do Premier League 2021 Panini stickers cost?
- Where can you buy Premier League 2021 Panini stickers?
- How many stickers do you need to fill the Premier League 2021 Panini book?
- How much will it cost to fill the Premier League 2021 Panini sticker book?
- How to fill in missing Premier League 2021 Panini stickers
How much do Premier League 2021 Panini stickers cost?
A single packet of Premier League Panini stickers costs 70p and there are five stickers per packet.
The softcover sticker book and 20 stickers can be bought for £3.99 in most shops, but a hardback album (sold with two sticker packets) will cost £25.
Sticker packet bundles of varying numbers can also be purchased, with the box of 100 packets (500 stickers) priced at £70.
Where can you buy Premier League 2021 Panini stickers?
Premier League 2021 Panini stickers can be purchased at all major supermarkets and newsagents, including WH Smith, Asda, One Stop, Waitrose and more.
Stickers and sticker books (as well as other merchandise) can also be bought online using the official Panini web store - collectibles.panini.co.uk - or online retailers such as Amazon.
How many stickers do you need to fill the Premier League 2021 Panini book?
In order to fill the Panini Premier League 2021 sticker book you will need to get all 642 stickers.
There are 29 stickers for each team, plus a section for 20 'Elite' players and 20 'Star Signings'.
On the first page, there is space for the Premier League trophy and the official Premier League ball, with 20 stickers for the contents pages.
Space is also available at the back of the book for 48 'Transfers Update' stickers, which will take into account any new signings made during the transfer window.
So, your Premier League 2021 Panini book could have as many as 690 stickers in total.
How much will it cost to fill the Premier League 2021 Panini sticker book?
It is difficult to put a precise figure on how much it will cost to fill the Premier League 2021 Panini sticker book because of the variables involved.
With 642 stickers required, that means you need to buy at least 129 packets at a minimum cost of £90.30 in order to fill it. However, you will need to get no duplicates whatsoever in those packets and the chances of that happening are so slim as to be practically impossible.
The cost of filling the Premier League 2021 Panini book will increase significantly the more duplicates you receive in packets, but the rising price of the hobby can be mitigated by swapping with other collectors.
When Panini launched the official World Cup 2018 sticker book, Professor Paul Harper estimated that the average collector would have to spend around £775 on 967 packets in order to fill the book. However, that particular sticker book had 682 unique sticker spaces, so the average cost for the Premier League 2021 book, with 642 stickers to collect, would be slightly lower than that.
As mentioned, if one is able to swap with other collectors then the cost drops dramatically, so it makes sense to seek swaps instead of rushing out to buy more and more packets.
How to fill in missing Premier League 2021 Panini stickers
The best way to fill in missing Panini stickers in the Premier League 2021 book is to swap with other collectors and this can be where the fun of the pursuit is found for many.
Mobile apps, such as the official Panini collectors app, are available for iPhone and Android devices to help collectors find the missing pieces of the puzzle.
Swap exchange websites have also been set up to help facilitate sticker swaps, while Facebook groups exist too, so it is worth doing your homework on those.
On Twitter, some collectors make use of the hashtag #GotGotNeed to signal to other collectors what they need and what they are trading away.
If you are having difficulty locating the stickers you need to complete the collection, Panini has a missing stickers service which allows collectors to identify exactly which ones they need.
A limit of 50 stickers can be ordered through this service on the official Panini website.