I think this is the crux of the matter.
I would feel better if we spent £40m plus on just one player every year than buying 4 players for £25m that are not quite good enough. Of course you can get great players for less money occasionally, but that is really hard.
Every summer we seem to need a clear out. This year we could be looking at Sturridge, Moreno, Lucas, Sakho plus the youth who never quite made it as well as trying to bring in 5+ players.
I know we won't get him specifically, but if we bought Griezmann for £70m this summer and nobody else I would be delighted. Take some very, very cheap punts on younger players too, but don't bother buying decent, but not great players for £10-25m certainly not in key positions. Blow your cash down the spine first. That is what Rafa did with Reina, Alonso then Masch and Torres. Imagine if he had been able to spend £40m on a wide attacker after the season we finished 2nd.
If only it was as easy as spending money on it like that. As if Griezmann would want to come to this club when Atletico is still in a better place on the pitch and other clubs are ahead of us on the pitch in EPL with the same or more money available. Big money transfers don't guarantee anything in the current league and those 25-35mil range players give you the ability to spread the risk and in the end there are just as many hits if not an even more successful hit rate than the mega signings e.g. Kante, Luiz, Costa, Alonso, Pedro, Herrera, Bailly, Lallana, Gini, Son, Lukaku, Gabriel Jesus, Gundogan. Looking at the spending this summer from other clubs around the 40mil ( using euros because transfermarkt
http://www.transfermarkt.com/premier-league/transfers/wettbewerb/GB1/plus/?saison_id=2016&s_w=&leihe=0&intern=0&intern=1#to-11) and above you have:
Mustafi, Xhaka
Stones, Sane
Pogba, Mkhitaryan
Mane
How many world class successes from that list of most expensive transfers so far this season? I'd argue Mane our own signing has been as good as any of them if not better, and he's probably not even a mega signing considering I used euros not pounds, nor did he have a reputation as world class, just a good fit for our squad. There are some kids in there that haven't shown much as well. The only guy you could consider world class is Pogba who imo is a bit overrated and he cost 105mil euros...
If we look at a season before that:
De Bruyne, Sterling, Otamendi
Martial
Benteke, Firmino
Again just 1 player in KDB, rest are not near world class or are just young stars. Even Man Utd was struggling to attract a big name and in the end they had to settle on overpaying for Martial. Our signings were again on the lower edge of 40mil euros so can barely be classed there if you used pounds.
Season before that:
Sanchez
Di Maria
1 hit 1 miss. We were in for Sanchez and had the upper hand negotiating with Barca but he flat out rejected us unfortunately, wasn't to do with money unless you really believe after losing Suarez we couldn't spend enough for our 1st choice replacement who was like 60% or something cheaper in both transfer fees and wages. And Sanchez was cheaper than Di Maria by 30mil yet was the hit, at again just above the borderline 40mil euros.