Daniel Levy:
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What is your view on other clubs' spending during this window?
"My view is that it's totally unsustainable. I'm not sure if that's the view of the other Premier League clubs, but certainly the prices that are being paid for other Premier League players I can't see it being sustainable in the long term.
"I think I am a custodian of this football club. This club has been around since 1882 and when I leave it will be somebody else. I think we have a duty to manage the club appropriately.
I don't think that long term for any club it's sustainable to spend more than you earn. You can have periods where you do but over the long term you can't.
"I think that some of the activity that's going on at the moment is just impossible to be sustainable. You know if somebody is spending £200m more than they're earning then eventually it catches up with you. You can't keep doing it.
"We've managed the club, we think, in a very appropriate way. We've invested a lot of money in physical facilities for long-term growth. So we've got one of the world's best training facilities. We've invested over £100m in that facility.
"We're now investing in the stadium. The stadium is fundamental because with that we get more fans and more income and that's the way to clearly have a more sustainable business.
"At the same time the academy is important because we can produce our own players. We don't have to go and spend £20, £30m, £40m on a player and obviously that homegrown player has an affinity with the club that a player we buy doesn't. That's what the fans want to see. They want to have that passion. That's what you get with a homegrown player and that's why people love Harry Kane and sing that he's one of our own."[/article]
David Sullivan:
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How are you cracking these deals?
"We've been working very, very long and very hard on them. Eight days ago we had one deal in the bag which was Mr Zabaleta, which I still think is a fantastic signing. We've now happened to pull three together in a week. These deals take forever and they are getting harder and harder.
"This is the hardest window I've come across with the demands of the players, demands of the clubs and valuations. I think we're all holding our mouths open and can't believe some of the things that are going on, and in the middle of that we're trying to do business.
"We've had a policy this year up to now to buy players for now, instead of tomorrow. We made a decision with the manager in the summer to buy players for positions that we needed that we thought could deliver straight away. Players that are proven in the Premier League, players that have been here before and of an age where they are not bought for tomorrow, but for today. Long-term it's not a great strategy, but short-term it certainly is.
"We hopefully may still buy one or two young players, one or two investments for the future and rejuggle the pack a bit more. All the time we are trying to do what is best for the club."
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