Mane for example is in his last year of contract with Liverpool and is asking to leave, the rumored transfer fee is also mentioned to be under €40M, wages and sign-on fee will obviously be much more than what Berardi would demand but overall costs at the end of the day would still be perceived as a market opportunity compared to what he could bring to the team and what his real market value is. Same applies to Di Maria or even Gnabry, maybe they just don't want to join Juventus afterall and choose to rather go somewhere else , who can blame them? but i am saying we should at least be trying for someone closer to those profiles first rather than take gambles by investing too much in someone that might not have what it takes to step up and get us back to winning ways.
But Mane doesn't want to come here. So speculating that a Mane-like operation would be better is all well and good but if the player doesn't want to come here, whats the point? There are a ton of options I like better than Berardi too but if they don't want to come here, using them as examples isn't a good example.
Kostic should definitely be considered as well as several other Bundesliga strikers/wingers that are younger than Berardi imo. The dream would be Nkunku but otherwise players like Diaby, Wirtz, Szoboszlai, Kostic, Kainz, Wimmer, Sallai all are younger players with promise and most would not cost 30m imo. Nkunku and Diaby obviously would, probably Wirtz and Szoboszlai as well but the rest should not cost 30m.
I think the club needs to take a hard look at the transfer strategy and realize that the possibilities with getting early 20s wingers who are showing attacking promise has a lot of benefits to it. Jumping into the market EARLY on a player bears some responsibility with developing them but also with that responsibility is a lot of the financia benefits. And the financial risks. But trying to play the big financial dick contest with Prem League clubs, Bayern, Real, and PSG is a losing game. The sooner the club realizes there is a step on the transfer totem pole higher than RB Salzburg but lower than Manchester City the better. We need to sit there. I'm not saying we become a completely selling club but in this day and age a player coming and staying his entire career is unheard of, even in Italy. So why do we continue to have that mentality and fight over players who are already at their peak in terms of cost/value?
The entire squad does not need to be these types of players but 2-3 SHOULD be that level. Players like Nkunku who Leipzig bought from PSG for 13m like three years ago and is still only 24. This could've been the backup striker we need three years ago who transitions and develops into the starter or second striker we need now and want. He's wages were never anything insane and now he'll probably be sold for 80m.
Europe is full of these players and they should be targetted as supplementary pieces to our squad who gradually work their way into becoming strong players on the squad and after that time if they want to go to the Prem or Bayern or PSG - it is what it is. Those are the times we live in. Sell and run away with the 80m transfer fee.