All these net spend figures based purely on reported transfer fees are a load of nonsense. Firstly, nobody really knows the exact sums paid for players most of the time. Then, you have add-ons, increased wages, bonuses, agents fees, image rights, amortisation, length of contracts etc. etc. to factor into the deals.

Selling a homegrown player, that was on relatively low wages, for say £15 million spread over four years doesn’t have the perceived impact in offsetting against a huge transfer fee paid out for a £120 million player that’s going to be on £300,000 a week. Its just the media presenting massively simplified figures for basic-brained Kopites to spout about in the boozer to an uninterested audience.