This might be interesting reading
In dieser Statistik werden die Transferbilanzen der letzten fünf bzw. zehn Jahre der Vereine der Premier League miteinander verglichen.
www.transfermarkt.co.uk
FYI Our 5 year net spend is higher than Bournemouth, Brighton and Brentford. So its not a case of not spending.
But ultimately our transfer policy is and will be critical to our growth. And some fans need to understand the dynamics at play:
Until this summer (Olise, Anderson, Jonstone, Ayew) we've had next to no sales. Since 20/20 we've only sold Sorloth and Benteke. For most of our premiership tennure we have been buying older players with no sell on potential. DF and SP have gone a great job in recent years to overhaul the make up of the squad. We now have a lot of young valuable players on the books. This needs to be recognised.
Selling at the right time becomes critical to make the model work, Anderson being a great example of that. JMP will be the next one. We cant be offering silly contracts at the wrong ages. As important as a player might be (JPM is a perfect example) we need to manage the situation perfectly. (JPM is 28 in the summer, value will dramatically decline. So IMO we either need to sell asap, or be comfortable that he'll see his career out with us). Fans generally hate seeing any good player sold, but often fail to appreciate that its for the greater good.
Making the right decisions on players is critical. A lot on here slammed the decision to replace Anderson with Lacroix, however it was the smart call. Replacing with a younger model, banking some cash and selling an aging asset. (On this trajectory Lacroix might be worth £50m in a couple of years, and Anderson will be sat on the bench)
Supplement were possible with free transfers e.g. Lerma/Kamada. Obviously the jury is still out on Kamada, but (although wages are high) allow us to supplement the squad with experience, whilst mitigating the risk (not mandatory to get a transfer fee)
Sell on potential needs to be a huge decision in every transfer. Almiron, Chilwell etc are depreciating assets we cant afford to be making these sort of transfers where they are ultimately released for free.
Of course the model comes with some downsides, turmoil (eg Lacroix taking a couple of months to settle) and danger (getting the recruitment wrong, or having to try to replace the irreplaceable). But ultimately if we get it right more often than not, we'll keep moving in the right direction. And its clear we are moving in the right direction. Keep the faith!