It’s a tough one. Let’s say we return/release 7-8 players then we might be looking at a £30m budget. We could bring in 4-5 players at a few million a pop, but at PL level you really are in unknown territory as to whether you unearth a gem. Or we could go big on a couple of marquee signings - I’d be looking at 2 from James/Bowen and/or Maupay/Adams. The risk is this could leave the squad exposed unless we’ve inventive with the remaining budget and loan market.
If you compare say Crystal Palace with Cardiff or Huddersfield, Palace have survived comfortably largely on their forward line. It’s rapid and they can all finish. And rumour is they are quids in on selling some of them this summer.
Doing a “low-budget” Fulham and bloating the squat with 7-8 new players isn’t the way to go for me. A couple of “statement of intent” signings with a couple of punts might be our best chance.