One the the fundamentals is coming to an agreement internally about the maximum fee we are prepared to pay for any player. No club has all their eggs in one basket, and this is something we struggle with apparently.
You make an offer, increase it if necessary if it is still within budget, and if that's not good enough, you drop the negotiations and move on.
There simply cannot be just one option for one position at any given point in time.
Surely the point of scouting and all of this hugely sophisticated technology and software available is that it gives you a range of options within budget. You go for your first target obviously, but it shouldn't be all or nothing.
We had this blind spot with Sigurdsson as well such that Swansea could smell our money before the 1st bid was submitted.
Also, of course, Moshiri, and the club have been happy to go-along with the general media perception over the last 2 years, that we are happy to throw bids and money at every player that takes our fancy.
We are not moneybags Everton despite many seeming to think that we are. Our spending under Moshiri has been not much better than modest I would argue given the TV revenue and some big sales.
