Moaning about transfers achieves nothing beyond getting your own frustrations off your chest.

Whilst we may all be disappointed when we miss out on a supposed main target, we always have to remember that the club are the only ones who see the full picture. They know what business they want to do, both incoming and outgoing. And all of that business impacts on each other.

Based on what is out there right now, it is clear we are looking at a left winger, a central midfielder, and a right back come centre back to come in alongside Illan Meslier and Christos Tzolis.

After establishing the type of player they want, the club then assigns the sort of budget they are looking to invest in each position – including all transfer fees, wages, agent fees, etc. Whilst fans cry “pay the asking price”, overpaying for one player may mean you miss out on another, or have to go for a cheaper option elsewhere.

Illan Meslier on a free, for example, led to the club getting some criticism. But by recruiting him – as either the 2nd or 3rd choice keeper remember – we ensure that we have more funds left for other positions. Likewise, Tzolis for around £30m will ensure that our trio of main targets is not affected.

I truly believe the club are targetting:

• A left winger in the region of £80-£100m
• A central midfielder in the region of £60-80m
• A rigth back come centre back in the region of £40-60m.

If we recruit those at the bottom end of our prices, we spend £180m. At the top end of the prices, it is £240m. Alongside Tzolis and Hincapie that will be around £300m spent this summer. Add in the wages, agent fees, etc and that is likely our budget. The club will know exactly what this figure is.

But now we get the selling clubs asking price.

Morgan Rogers has seemingly gone to Chelsea for £117m. Newcastle initially demanded £100m for Bruno. Were we to just pay the asking price, that would be £217m, leaving just £23m in the pot for a new right back/centre back. Overpaying leads you having to make sacrifices elsewhere, and Chelsea have shown this.

Under BlueCo, Chelsea have built a reputation for coming in late and moving quick for major signings, usually paying the asking price. It is how they signed Rogers from under Arsenal’s nose. And how they recruited Romeo Lavia and Moises Caicedo who were both seemingly Liverpool bound. But this sort of behaviour by Chelsea creates financial risk.

Chelsea continually to overpay in the transfer market. And whilst they might give their fans that endorphin of beating a rival to a player, it is ultimately at the detriment of the club.

Paying the asking price and spending big on long term contracts has basically ruined Chelsea. Whilst Liverpool and Arsenal’s more “sensible” approach has seen them win the last two league titles, Chelsea have finished 4th and 10th.

Chelsea have huge financial problems. And what that means is they are constantly having to sell players to buy. And that creates a problem when it is selling your better players.

Marc Cucerella has already departed this summer to Real Madrid. And who will now depart to finance Rogers. It will likely be either Enzo Fernandez or Cole Palmer. That will be two of their 3 best players gone to finance their chatoic transfer policy.

And this is another part of the transfer picture. You never know what the plans are for someone who has just beaten you to a player.

Imagine now that either Fernandez (to Madrid) or Palmer (back to Man City) are sold this summer. Or maybe even both. Then someone of Rogers profile becomes such an important target that they will just pay what is needed to get it done. For Arsenal, with 2 left wingers and 10 attackers already at the club, Rogers was not the biggest priority.

Losing Fernandez or Palmer and gaining Rogers is a step backwards. We will only really know why Chelsea went so big once the window plays out.

We are seeing similar at Tottenham. Already spent well over £200m. But we all know the outgoings will happen soon.

Their fans have got that endorphin hit of signing Tonali, Fernandes, van Hecke, Robertson and Sensei. But it is likely they had to go big on these with the likes of van der Ven and Romero set to depart, alongside Djed Spence and Vicario, as well as young talents such as Lucas Bergvall joining Luka Vuskovic out of the club.

To spend big, both Chelsea and Tottenham are having to sell to balance those books. And those coming in are not as good as those departing.

So back to Arsenal. Could we have signed Rogers for £117m? Of course we could. But the club were unwilling to go that high due to how it would impact other signings. Or it could have resulted in us needing to sell someone we did not want to.

The final factor in this is clubs will have their valuations and what they beleive they think a deal could get done at.

Say Arsenal valued Rogers at £80-£100m. Then they looked at someone like Vinicius Jr or Yan Diomande who they valued at £120-£150m. Once Rogers gets to £117m, do you keep up your pursuit of him, or do you think “there is someone better out there who does not cost much more than that” ands you then switch to the superior target.

There is so much to factor in when building your transfer window. The cost of those that come in impact what you cans pend on others, and may result in you having to sell more. and as costs rise, other players might become better options.

And that is why I will never moan about transfers. Once the window shuts, we can then have the full picture and can evaluate.

And my final point is “winning the transfer window” does not mean you will win on the pitch. Tottenham have shown us this countless times over the years. Liverpool showed us this last year.

Have a good week!

Keenos