I will add for those that think we should just pay Stewart the premier league wage he wants… that it’s not just Stewart.
Let’s say Everton can offer him £30k per week.
and let’s say we COULD match it. (It’s almost certain we can’t).
and that point we aren’t just stretching for Stewart.
Because what happens next is Pritchard’s wage demands suddenly go up £10k per week. So do Neil’s. So do Clarke’s.
And then every agent of every player we try to sign knows that we’ve offered Stewart big bucks and suddenly we are pricing ourselves out of signings.
It’s why our wage ceiling isn’t something that should just be broken to keep a player. The ceiling should be reassessed continuously as our financial situation improves, but should only ever be raised to a level we are willing to pay several players.