Id like to think regardless of CL we can sign whoever we want. West Ham signed Kudos, Wolves signed Cunha, Brentford signed Mbuemo. We just dont seem to spend the right money on unearthing that next talent. We wait until the likes of West Ham, Wolves, Brentford sign these players at fees we can most certainly afford (30m to 40m range) but end up spending £60m on the likes of Richarlison and Solanke, who are just not the players we should have been spending that money on. It makes no financial sense. We then get priced out of the likes of Mbuemo, Kudos and Cunha and those teams dont want to really sell to a direct rival, but will to the powerhouses like City, Liverpool, Arsenal. Wages certainly help too as we are too tight with those as well.
We waste an awful lot of money, and its not saying other clubs dont, but can you name any decent players of ours recently that other premier league teams would want to sign? Can only hear rumours of City circling around Bergval, and rightly so. Our hit rate is shocking.