Maccy, do you not think that the "making profit" bit is more a broad brush statement though? He's saying we need to clear the decks in order to fund a transfer of that magnitude.

I.e. get rid of some of the also-rans, making a quick buck on players like Clichy and Toure, who were surplus to requirements.

What I get from all of this, by way of his comment "at the start of the season", is that he needs to have a surplus of cash, plus a bit more in oder to balance the squad, balance the books, and maybe (if this is linked to his Hazard comments) to fund a big money buy....but let's not forget, he also says that it is his job to determin whether someone like Hazard is worth the price tag.

This is why we have Arteta instead of Mata for instance....value for money v's what they give each team is quite a stark contrast when you consider the sums of money involved....and it's clear we don't have free cash to spunk.