Liverpool managing director Ian Ayre has said he has no regrets over the club’s failure to sign U.S. international Clint Dempsey last August for $9.6 million. While the interest of Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers in the then-Fulham forward was well known, owner Fenway Sports Group refused to sign off on his transfer, as it preferred to sign players under the age of 24. Dempsey, 29, would later join Tottenham instead.

“The issue then came down to a particular deal and a particular price or structure to that deal. It wasn’t right to do it,” Ayre told the Liverpool Echo. “People may feel they want to criticize the fact we didn’t have an additional striker. But at what price would you sacrifice spending for something that is not in the long-term interests of the club versus what we just did, which was getting a great price on a great player in Daniel Sturridge?”

He added: “If we had spent that money in the summer, then we wouldn’t have done that trade recently. It may have left us short, but the pieces just did not come together. We’ve come through that period now. I still feel it was the right decision.”