Can we really take another risk at signing someone expensive? What happens if he flops? The only way i see us getting out of this mess is that we sign cheaper players who bring a ton of value to the squad. If they fail, we dont incur heavy losses and move them on.
I’m no big fan of Delap but he definitely fits that low risk high (potential) reward signing
I understand the sentiment, and I appreciate that we - of all fanbases - know what it's like to be burned on terribly overpriced players who turned out to be nowhere near as able as the valuation suggested, but that has been down to terrible recruitment of players who weren't well regarded in the first place. In other words, we've paid obscene amounts for players that nobody else would because they don't see a player worth that amount in assessment.
The one player it's fair to say was worth there or thereabouts his valuation that we've brought in on the high end has been Yoro, who was being lined up for Real Madrid no less, before we interjected and had to pay a premium to procure him. We went in for a player regarded as the best young prospect CB in the world and he looks good money to be something special.
Gyokeres is not a young prodigy, but he is a player rounding out into his peak years who a lot of top clubs are eyeing up - if he doesn't go to one top club, he'll for sure be going to another top club. This is the kind of player you should always be in for if the finances permit. It's how all top clubs operate, and then they supplement with cheaper buys in other positions, but if your strategy is to spread thin and cheaply, you need absolutely elite recruiters because the likelihood of finding diamonds in the dirt are extremely low and if you're then not careful, you've filled your squad with dross that not only lowers the collective level, they also are hard to move on for a decent amount. It's just death by a thousand cuts instead of a fatal swing or two as occurs with a big value flop - it's still going to end in tears.
If we're going to go to the bargain basement, we're better off promoting from within or trying to be shrewd in the market, with: free agents, players in the last year of contracts and the like. It's by no means a guarantee of things turning out better or for the best. Quality of quantity is paramount, and we've shown no aptitude in the budget market to be making it our business model. We've been bad on both sides of the coin, but there's a reason why the top clubs shop at the top end of the market and not the bottom. You can get bolder and braver with speculative punts once you've assembled a quality side with a strong core; those guys will be the staple of your team and enable you to branch off with supplemental players.
But again, elite talent supplemented with academy graduates was always this clubs' best and most effective model. We've no business (or ability) veering away from that.
