I would like to know, via THST, directly or indirectly by other channels....whether we have a transfer budget this Summer (Levy has said previously that transfer funds are protected),how much it is, since we've raised about £70m so far in player sales, to add to the alleged fun of say £50m, whether the 'glass ceiling' on wages still exists and how much it is and finally who controls the budget in terms of selecting the transfer targets.
I fully appreciate that we are unlikely to get any answers on the above, but I would like to ask the question anyway. For the avoidance of doubt I'm not that worried about who if anyone we sign, as long as that is Poch's view. If however the manager wants players and Levy isn't backing him, then I am very bothered indeed.
Levy speaking today in US at the nasdaq
Does the new stadium impact the club's activity in the transfer market? "I'd answer that in two ways. Regardless of the stadium project, today our position on transfers is that we have a coach that very much believes in the academy.
"Unless we can find a player who would make a difference he would rather give one of our academy players a chance so that's regardless of the financing of the stadium.
"Obviously when you're building a stadium of this magnitude in a UK context it all has to be privately financed. There's no state help whatsoever.
"It is a challenge and we have to find the right balance but it's not impacting us at the moment on transfer activity because we're not yet in a place where we've found the player who we definitely want to buy but can't afford to buy."
What is your view on other clubs' spending during this window? "My view is that it's totally unsustainable. I'm not sure if that's the view of the other Premier League clubs, but certainly the prices that are being paid for other Premier League players I can't see it being sustainable in the long term.
"I think I am a custodian of this football club. This club has been around since 1882 and when I leave it will be somebody else. I think we have a duty to manage the club appropriately. I don't think that long term for any club it's sustainable to spend more than you earn. You can have periods where you do but over the long term you can't.
"I think that some of the activity that's going on at the moment is just impossible to be sustainable. You know if somebody is spending £200m more than they're earning then eventually it catches up with you. You can't keep doing it.
"We've managed the club, we think, in a very appropriate way. We've invested a lot of money in physical facilities for long-term growth. So we've got one of the world's best training facilities. We've invested over £100m in that facility.
"We're now investing in the stadium. The stadium is fundamental because with that we get more fans and more income and that's the way to clearly have a more sustainable business.
"At the same time the academy is important because we can produce our own players. We don't have to go and spend £20, £30m, £40m on a player and obviously that homegrown player has an affinity with the club that a player we buy doesn't. That's what the fans want to see. They want to have that passion. That's what you get with a homegrown player and that's why people love Harry Kane and sing that he's one of our own."
