Absolutely love watching him. Honestly think he's got everything, he can dribble, shoot, pass and even put in a tackle.

However, I've banged on about how we should try and emulate the Leicester model in the past and, unfortunately, this would be part of it.

We've missed the boat in terms of getting top value for Zaha now but with Eze we should potentially be planning to sell him next summer for a huge fee having already lined up or sourced a couple of cheaper alternatives who could hopefully emulate his success.

That is probably the only way we can gradually build a team capable of climbing the table.

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold...

Well, I specifically mentioned it as 'the Leicester model' and I don't know how anyone can argue that it hasn't worked for them.

Over the last 5 years (since winning the league) they've finished 12th, 9th, 9th, 5th and this season looks to be 3rd-5th. Over those seasons their net spend was (chronologically) £23m, £34m, £17m, £14m and then, finally, £4m this season. So as they've progressed further up the league they've spent even less thanks to this model whilst still improving. Their net spend is actually only £50m more than us during that time.

They've made huge profits on Maguire, Kante, Mahrez, Chilwell and Drinkwater, selling one a season, and used the money to buy Ndidi, Tielemans, Soyuncu, Fofana, Justin, Iheanacho, Maddison and Castagne. Effectively they've sold a few stars and built an entire squad.

All of them could be sold for a huge profit too and I'd wager they'll sell Ndidi for a load this summer before reinvesting it themselves.

Of course there have been signings that haven't worked too but the nature of their buy low, sell high strategy is that they can afford to make those mistakes and still improve.

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold...

I take your points but where I think we're in fundamental disagreement is our expectations of how Leicester's title win should have changed their ambitions.

Clearly winning the league was a once in a lifetime thing and I don't think it was realistic that, given their resources, they'd be able to become a permanent fixture in that Champions League group after that.

Ultimately the best players will always want to play at the biggest clubs, something we've seen with Zaha, and I think what Leicester have done is shrewdly realised that it is something which can be leveraged in your favour.

Producing a team like they did was a freak thing but now they have a process in place which keeps them competitive at top end of the table despite their relatively small resources.

Also I believe that players are probably more likely to want to go there because they know the club will sell them if the money is right and if they play well enough. In short, if you're willing to be the stepping stone for the best players you do still get to enjoy them, even if just for a couple of seasons.

The bottom line is that we've done very well to produce Zaha and recruit Eze but we don't have the money to push on and and I don't see how we can do so other than, for example, selling Zaha and using the money to gamble on 2/3 cheaper replacements and then doing the same on Eze a year or two later.

It's massively dependant on the abilities of your scouting team, of course, which is probably where we aren't strong enough, but I don't really see how else we improve otherwise bar a takeover.

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold...

Agreed. I take your points Canterbury, but as Painter says, there are far more teams who do badly out of selling their best players than do well. Even if I were to concede that Leicester have done well out of it, they would be the exception to prove the rule.

Ultimately I accept it to be inevitable, if only because players want to move upwards, but I am concerned that the club shouldn't see it as a good thing, to be encouraged or aimed for. It is a necessary evil. When we sold Ian Wright, that didn't help. Didn't help at all.

Edited by TheBigToePunt (12 May 2021 6.08pm)

There is a bit in the crazy gang documentary that sums it up. Wimbledon’s manager bumps into the chairman in the tunnel of Wembley and tells him it’s great now is a good time to sell the players, administration and relegation followed a couple of season later.
We in theory should need to sell our best players now, as long as we are careful with money and do t make the mistakes we have with Sakho and tekkers and even to an extent Wilfs contracts.