I've been wondering if this was always going to be a quiet season (summer and winter windows) to allow us to "catch up" when it comes to our finances.
If anyone who understands these things knows better please correct me, but presumably our policy of seeking long-term loans with either obligations or options to purchase (coming in later windows) means that for the last two years the transfer spend on the books has in effect been dragging behind the status of the squad. At some point, to start fishing in the most elite pools of players, we'll have to accept paying up front more often - which you can't do if you've already "spent" a few tens of millions on making players you already had in your squad permanent. And considering we're already, by the admission of Jeff and others in the club, ahead of Fosun's schedule for progress on the pitch, I wonder if this is the season where we effectively pay off our overdraft and get back into the black ahead of the summer. Qualifying for the Europa League last year was a nice surprise, but for the longer term it's like Leicester winning the league - you use the extra money and opportunities it brings, but overall it still takes longer to work your way up the overall table towards building a team that can regularly eg qualify for the top four.
