I think the point is you can sometimes get a higher calibre of player through the loan market than permanent signings. Archer wasn't available to buy in January, not at any price that we could afford. We were able to get him on loan.
Ayton is suggesting a difference-maker; that little bit of quality that might get us over the line.
If it makes the difference between promotion and another season in the championship, then it was worth it, wasn't it?
100% agree, and I understand the concept of loaning a difference maker - but we try it year after year and it doesn't work.
Last season was great... But it doesn't matter how good Archer was; we didn't get promoted - so financially we're worse off, and we end up worse off every time we try it.
Greenwood making any form of difference over the next 2-3 seasons, after signing him for £1.5m - is more likely than us paying a £1m loan fee for someone who's going to fire us to the PL in 20 games.
It's a gamble of course, but so is any permanent signing. We signed Britt for £15m and gave him away for free at the end.
There's always a risk that it backfires, but no one get promotion without some element of risk. Even Luton smashed their transfer record to get Morris in last season.
Luton bought Morris from Barnsley for less than £2 million - and he scored 20 goals and got 6 assists.
He's also 1 in 3 in the premier league for them this season.