- Cesc Fabregas (15) Free.
- Frank Lampard (14) £11m. A bargain signing. 100 goals in 300+ appearances in 9 injury-free seasons.
- Ryan Giggs (12) Free.
- James Milner (11) £12m
- Ashley Young (10) £8m (with add-ons) signed in Jan 2007.
- Nani (9) £14m (with add-ons)
- Aaron Lennon (9) £1m. Steal from the sinking ship of Leeds United.
- Matthew Etherington (9) £2m. Sold by West Ham following gambling problems.
- Antonio Valencia (9) £15m Big-money signing from Wigan last summer.
- Shaun Wright-Phillips (7) £8.5m A return home for the prodigal son.
- Gareth Barry (7) £12m - could have, would have, should have?
- Lampard was signed in 2004 for £11m when we spent a similar sum on Xabi Alonso.
- Milner was signed in 2008 for £12m while we spent £8m on Riera, £7m on Dossena, £3m on Diego Cavalieri and "free" Philipp Degen (who has cost millions in wages): none of whom have featured regularly except Riera who has talked his way out of the club.
- Nani cost £14m in 2007 when we spent £70m (£35m net) on the likes of Torres, Lucas, Babel and Benayoun.
- Valencia was signed last summer from Wigan when our only big outlay was on Aquilani. Only a fool or blinkered optimist would argue Aquilani has contributed more than Valencia this season and will in the future.
- Barry would have been signed for £18m in 2008 but was prevented by Alonso's reluctance to leave. Barry could not been signed in 2009 for £12m because Rafa was desperate for the Basque midfield maestro to stay! At 29, probably a good call although again in the context of Aquilani's acquisition potentially questionable in the long term.
Now let's look at the more affordable players in the list:
- Young £8m signed in Jan 2007 in a season we signed Jermaine Pennant for £6.7m and a £2m deal for Sebastian Leto was agreed. Neither of whom shone in a Red shirt.
- Lennon £1m in the summer we signed Antonio Nunez for £2m.
- Etherington £2m signing from West Ham in a season where Dossena and Degen came in.
- Wright-Phillips £8.5m signing from Chelsea, a price not available to Liverpool at a time when City were not considered direct rivals for Chelsea.
The lessons to be learned are although speculating on young players who are proven at under-21 level can be risky (Pennant was a hot property as a youth international), the risk is outweighed by the enormous rewards of developing the talent to a world-class level and potentially huge transfer fees.
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