Well yes. Maybe because of Fifa fair play but there seems like there is less money flying about. Maybe it's because the gap between the championship/premiership is too high. Maybe after seeing QPR spend lots of money on the sort of players who were Spurs reserves and get relegated twice teams have thought again. Perhaps it is that clubs scout the European markets more now.
What it has led to though, is there are no longer a host of clubs looking to take the likes of Spurs reserve players off them. Everyone knows that Levy has got too many players, more than he ever wants or needs. He demands top dollar for his players but people are working him out and slowly refusing to pay it as they know the alternative is a lot worse for him.
I have no sympathy, had he have made a credible offer for Mirallas, something like Lennon plus 7-8 million we may have considered it. But it was typical Levy. He tried to pick him up for 3-5 million just to sell him on for 8 million 18 months later. People are growing wise to his tricks.
I think him and Kenwright are quite good friends. But underneath it all there is a shrewd negotiator with Kenwright. If Lennon performs well I hope Kenwright holds his nerve and doesn't pay the 7 million. If Lennon hits it off with us he won't want to go elsewhere. Levy will budge as he won't want to risk leaving Lennon with 6 months on his contract (ie next January) having to pay his wages until January. I suspect 3/4 million may be enough to get him, which could turn out to be a very good deal for us. For a player who's market value should be closer to 10 million, especially when you consider what Liverpool paid for the likes of Lallana.
