For me the ambitions of this club are clear, they couldn't be more clear, but neither could our financial limitations on the market.
Our spending this season before we even sold Vidal was:
Dybala €32m + €8m
Mandzukic €19m + €2m
Zaza €18m
Pereyra €14m
Khedira €0
Neto €0
Currently we are at about €20m net spend with an eye on the market, and possibly with Llorente sale money.
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2014-15 our top signings:
Morata €20m
Sturaro €5.5m
Marrone €5m
Evra €1.5m
Our net spend was around €18m.
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2013-14 our top signings:
Tevez €9m + €3m
Llorente €0
Ogbonna €13m + €2m
Our net spend was around €10m.
Of course this year we needed bigger signings to replace those leaving, and we were doing fine with that, but then the Vidal sale seems to have skewed perceptions towards the direction of this team, apparently. Personally I think people need to start getting over it. Khedira's injury definitely hasn't helped, but shit happens.
Now I'm just looking at us to spend this money, whatever it is, on someone good enough to play a part this season. Not just to go and fire it on someone for the sake of looking like we mean business. We aren't fricking Liverpool.