But this argument drives me crazy as it is to misunderstand how any football club can and should manage its finances.

The best run clubs make a variety of investments: in the youth academy, in younger and cheaper ‘prospect’ players, young expensive more established/highly regarded ones, mid career value buys, mid career more expensive guys and cheap/mid older guys.

You don’t have to make every buy with an eye in fiscal rectitude, just enough of them overall to stay on the right side of the rules and enable continuing investment. Obviously you cannot do too many but one here and there is perfectly manageable if competently run.

So, thankfully, there remains room even in modern football to buy a player simply because they improve your squad for now and a season or two more providing your overall transfer dealing remains within the parameters permitted by club-level financial modelling.