Now that’s a different question and deserving of a different answer.
Is the issue that we “can’t” pay the going rate or “won’t”?
I’m not advocating silly borrowings of money but if we wanted to we could, is my view. We don’t want to. It’s a “won’t” rather than a Can’t”.
We think it’s not necessary to pay above the glass ceiling we’ve set because it’s worked for us not to do so up until now. To change that thinking will take failure. In order to force a re-evaluation.
We had an amazing season last season. Beyond all expectations. Wilder seems to think that the same can happen again without strengthening the squad significantly. It can’t. Look at our contemporaries this close season. Derby, Boro, Norwich, Stoke, Forest. Look at what they are spending. As an independent commentator on Sky or was it BBC? said:
“We don’t think Sheffield Inited have really strengthened this summer”
And we haven’t. Not compared to them we are competing with.
That’s a problem!