2009/10 to 2017/18

Brighton & Hove Albion spent one of the nine seasons from 2009/10 to 2017/18 in the Premier League and six in the Championship, with two lower down. Their best finish was 15th, in 2017/18. They didn’t win a major trophy. Over those nine summers they paid £49.6m in transfer fees and took in £10.7m, a net spend of £38.9m.

Brighton's decade is a study in patience. Promoted into the Championship in time for 2011/12, the season the Amex opened, they reached the play-offs in 2012/13 and 2013/14 without going up. A wobble to 21st followed in 2014/15. Then 2015/16 brought 89 points and third place, level with second-placed Middlesbrough. They finally went up as runners-up in 2016/17, and finished 15th in their first Premier League season.

The recruitment was clever rather than lavish. Shane Duffy came from Blackburn, Pascal Groß from Ingolstadt for around £2.7m and José Izquierdo from Club Brugge for £13.5m. The one big sale was Leonardo Ulloa, to Leicester for £8m in 2014.

In summer 2009 Brighton were a League One club, so there is a lot of climbing to do. £900m makes it quicker, and hindsight tells you where it matters: 2015/16 was decided by the finest of margins, and that is one you can win.