Five players out (four of whom are regulars) and four in ?
Dodgy for me. We already have a small squad.
Exactamundo.
For the sake of making the squad bigger and younger, I would like to see Moyes pick up some out-of-contract bargains asap:
1) Douglas - Twente
2) Liam Bridcutt - Brighton
Presuming the likes of Heitinga, Gueye and Hitz move on, the squad would shrink further still. Throw in a couple more with a year or less remaining on their contracts:
3) Keisuke Honda - CSKA Moscow
4) Andreas Weimann - Villa
5) Leroy Fer - Twente
The problem is, however, finance. Would we get any change out of £25m if we were to sign all five of those listed? Considering agent fees, signing fees and such, I think not.
The need to increase the size of the squad is a strong argument AGAINST paying £20m+ for the likes of a Benteke or Lukaku. Like it or not, cash is a huge issue for this club so investing too high a proportion of the transfer budget in any single player is simply too risky; one injury or one suspension would effectively derail the entire reinvestment that such a purchase would represent.
There's also more scope for later profit on resale if FIVE players are purchase instead of one: if each went up £3m in value the club would see a £15m profit.