Eight promoted teams have spent north of £100m in the summer transfer window heading into their crack at the Premier League.
Three have stayed up, four have gone down, with Ipswich Town not only in the latter camp but also the only club to feature twice on that list.
It is why the eighth outcome remains unknown, and while it would take Ipswich another £55m to topple Sunderland’s bold spend last year – the Black Cats are also their first league opponents this month – their £107m summer spend on 10 new players is set to rise further with forward Julio Enciso expected to join this week.
A huge outlay carries no guarantee of survival, as Ipswich know themselves, having spent £100.5m two years ago before finishing 19th – 16 points off safety.
So have lessons been learnt? There has certainly been a different approach, and while Enciso appears crucial to helping one problem position, it is arguably off the pitch where Ipswich have taken their greatest gamble this summer.
