Aulas recently announced that the club would only allow one star player to leave during the upcoming window. Normally, this would not be an issue for Aulas, or the club, as their participation in the Europa League, and early exits from the Champions League have meant that the club’s players have drawn significantly less attention. There is always a slow drip of talent departing Les Gones; this season it was Mariano Diaz, and Mouctar Diakhaby, the season previous it was Alexandre Lacazette, and Corentin Tolisso, preceeded by Samuel Umtiti, and so on. The sales of course help fund acquisitions, and the operation of the club’s prolific academy, both of which help to supplement the squad, and strengthen it after the departure of a superstar. Daniel Fieldsend defined this rhythm in ‘The European Game: The Secrets of European Football Success’, as one of a ‘Mid-Tier Achiever’. However, like Ajax, and Porto, this year’s crop is particularly deep, and their talents have pushed them through to the Round of 16, but at the same time left the club vulnerable to big-money European sides now eager to pilfer their talents. A slow drip of transfers is somewhat sustainable, a sudden deluge is not, and that is what Aulas, often couching his positions in provocative statements, is insinuating.