Blame it on Leicester raising the bar or blame it on the new TV deal. It really doesn't matter who or what you blame but one way or another, you're going to have to start finding some rationale for what is going to be the most infuriatingly exaggerated transfer window we've ever had the misfortune of living through.
The fact that we'll have Euro 2016 (join the Facebook group) to distract ourselves is at least one saving grace but that doesn't start for more than a month and now that the Premier League is essentially done and dusted, it looks like we'll have to endure all this transfer bolloxology earlier than ever.
The quite frankly ludicrous new TV deal kicks into gear this summer and it was inevitable that kind of transfer fees that were once reserved for the likes of Man City and Chelsea would be achievable for the vast majority of the Premier League. West Ham in particular are an intriguing case.
Not only are they coming off the back of a very successful league campaign but they also have the added bonus of a brand spanking new stadium that they barely even have to pay for. It wouldn't have taken any deep analysis to figure out that they'll be big movers in the transfer window this summer but, even at that, no one can have imagined that they'd come out this early and take such an extensive piss all over what was already a ludicrously exaggerated transfer market.
According to the Guardian, the Hammers have made an official offer of €40 million (£31.5m) for Marseille striker Michy Batshuayi in an effort to beat the likes of Juve, Roma and Spurs to the punch.
Batshuayi has proven in a bang average Marseille side this season that he has all the attributes to develop into a €40 million striker but for West Ham to come in at this stage of his career and offer that kind of money is nothing short of ludicrous.
Fans will no doubt point to the kind of money that Liverpool paid for fellow Belgian striker Christian Benteke last season but at least he had a couple of years of impressive Premier League form under his belt. €40 million for Batshuayi is simply incredible for a club whose record transfer spend is the €19 million on Andy Carroll.
16 goals in Ligue 1 was a decent return in his second season in the south of France following his move from Standard Liege but for that kind of return to equate to West Ham doubling their record spend is the first real proof we have of the kind of inflated market that clubs are willingly entering into this summer. Euro 2016, you can't come soon enough.
