I think part of this is the psychology of who or where we are as a club. It's all well and good saying our rivals pay these prices, but historically we've always been unable to compete with our rivals spending. Now that we can it doesn't quite sit right with some, for different reasons. Can we continue to spend more if this doesn't work out? Will we be able to recoup and reinvest if he doesn't gel with the team? Is his form built on chemistry with teammates that he won't replicate here? There's a million different reasons a 21 year old with little top flight experience might not work out, and concern around the fee isn't borne from not wanting to compete.
I get the hesitance of some when it comes to paying these fees, my own hesitance is around the precedent we're setting as a club in caving to (what I see as ) ridiculous prices. Though Goon's point about Caicedo potentially being a final star piece worth overpaying for before we begin to push back in future is what I'm trying to convince myself of.
That our rivals have paid more for similar is the worst possible argument for me that we should follow suit. There must be smarter deals out there than throwing cash at the latest shiny thing, though that itself is indirect criticism of the recruitment to date.
