Its all about balance, on pitch success cant be compromised when selling players. There is a food chain in football and we are trying to work our way up it, some clubs will always be a head of us and when they come calling then we just have to accept that a player will leave and we have to maximise the value of it. I know Dortmund doesnt have the same feel as a Bayern, or a Real Madrid or Barca, but they are one of the elite clubs in the world, they were in the CL final 12 months ago ffs, we cant do much when they come calling other than get the best deal, which is what we've done.
TBF its also a bit of a myth with us selling under this model (at least the amount we sell). Stewart had a year left and was recovering from a significant issue (still is) and we maximised that. We turned down moves for Clarke and kept him for another year, got a decent deal as he moved to the Prem whilst we had Mundle waiting in the wings to replace him. We did everything and more to keep Watson and he wouldnt sign a deal, maximised that value too and now we've done it with Jobe. Way more occasions we've kept players than sold them (clarke 2023, Roberts to Southampton 2023, Jobe to Palace 2024) and thats just the ones we've heard about without considering the likes of Hume, Neil and Rigg who will have definitely had concrete interest.
We're on the right path imo, just got to keep the balance right.
