Moyes v Pellegrini transfer fees – the agony and ecstasy

This may be the most pointless piece I’ve written but on a very warm Bank Holiday as I wandered around town looking for, and finding, some nice book and album bargains my mind wandered towards our last two managers.

It really is difficult, without finding some references, to discover the depth of poverty signings that Pellegrini managed in his time.

You then look at David Moyes’ transfer market activities and you realise how fortunate we all are that the board asked him to return and, more to the point perhaps, that he accepted.

Few words are necessary but here the two managers signings to demonstrate how well off we are that Pellegrini was finally fired and that the Scot returned despite the reservations of many:

• Pelle signings:
• Seb Haller £45 million
• Andriy Yarmolenko £18 million
• Issa Diop £22 million
• Lukasz Fabianski £7 million
• Fabian Balbuena £4 million
• Jack Wilshere free but £100k a week wages
• Felipe Anderson £35 million
• Pablo Fornals £25 million
• Samier Nasri free
• Carlos Sanchez free
• Lucas Perez free
• Albian Ajeti £8 million
• and the unforgettably bad keeper Roberto who was free but should have paid us to join the club.
• That’s a grand total of £164 million and if you include those Wilshere wages it tops out at at nearly £180.
• Of those Fabianski has been a huge success, Fornals came of age under David Moyes whilst Issa Diop and Fabian Balbuena have been reasonable although at £22 million you probably expect more from Diop.

David Moyes – during his two spells at the club has brought in:

• Jordan Hugill at £8 million
• Jarrod Bowen at £22 million
• Said Benrahma at £25 million
• Tomas Soucek  at £22 million
• Vlad Coufal at £5.5 million
• Craig Dawson at £2.5 million
• That works out to a grand total of £85 million.

With the smallest recruitment team in the Premier League – as he explained – he hasn’t done bad eh?