The figures being quoted for England's not-so-top talent are frightening. Matthew Upson is an assured defender, but £6m plus add-ons represents a sizeable gamble for West Ham.
Hammers fans I know are simply relieved that the club's reported £18m bid for Darren Bent was not accepted.A promising talent, yes, but £18m worth of talent he is not. Similarly, Owen Hargreaves was voted England's best player of 2006 this week, but is £20m a realistic asking price for a player who prior to last year was regarded as a laughing stock and has recently suffered a serious injury?
This transfer window has once again highlighted the value that can be had abroad – perhaps Henrik Larsson's loan deal to Manchester United and Vicenzo Montella's temporary assignment at Fulham are the best examples.
Of course, few clubs want to sell in January, the by product of which is that the price goes up. The merits of the influx of foreign players to these shores is for another column, but Arsene Wenger, among many, has often complained that they are priced out of bringing English players to top clubs – surely this is a problem that needs to be addressed for the sake of the national team.
“It's a miracle that no clubs have gone bust because of it because it is a restraint of trade,” said Barry Fry this week. Never were that more the case if clubs try to buy British.
On the betting front, Middlesbrough's hosting of Arsenal has goals written all over it. Boro's freak 0-0 draw with Portsmouth – when they could have been beaten by four of five – should be forgotten, and Arsenal's recent excellent expansive football on the road should yield goals.
Gareth Southgate's side's draw on Wednesday included their first clean sheet in eight games, and the chances of two in a row are highly unlikely.
Arsenal's attacking capabilities are well documented, while Boro carry an attacking threat of their own, making Paddy Power's evens a tempting bet.
Moving into the Championship, sportingodds go 4-5 about both Norwich and Leeds scoring in their meeting at Carrow Road.
The Canaries looked a side full of goals against Wolves in midweek, but met a keeper in fine form and were tremendously unlucky not to score.
Peter Grant's side's defensive frailties reared themselves again in somehow losing the game, while Leeds have shown signs of revival by scoring in each of their last four games.
Insight
3pts Over 2.5 goals Middlesbrough v Arsenal Evens (Paddy Power)
3pts Both teams to score Norwich v Leeds (sportingodds)
Staking Plan
Min 0.5pt
Max 5pts
*Last week's results
The main bet of the week was denied thanks to a deflection three minutes from time by the lanky Kanu in Portsmouth's FA Cup fourth round visit to Manchester United.
The clean sheet we needed to support a United victory was seemingly forthcoming when Wayne Rooney strutted his stuff, but the Nigerian scuppered the bet and made stoppage time interesting by diverting a Pedro Mendes shot past Tomas Kuszczak.
Elsewhere, defensive tactics cost Swansea in their cup clash at Ipswich. Employing a 4-5-1 formation, manager Kenny Jackett decided to unleash potential match-winner Lee Trundle only when his side fell a goal behind.
Despite this, Swansea had good chances to force at least a replay and certainly gave those who took the 3-1 about a victory a run for their money.