Former Manchester United defender Kevin Moran says Premier League clubs are falling short in the transfer market.
He wrote in the Sunday World: "The trend has already started for the summer of 2014. Chelsea and Arsenal both need a classy centre-forward to kick on for the next campaign, yet who has signed the Pole Robert Lewandowski? Not them, but Bayern Munich.
"I've tried to think of reasons why English clubs are not grabbing the top talent, indeed they are regularly selling their stars, in the cases of Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo (below), Xabi Alonso and Arjen Robben.
"It's not the tax rates that see massive amounts of money disappear from footballers' monthly wage slips. The top rate of income tax in Britain did increase from 40 per cent to 50 per cent a few years ago, but the Tories brought it back down to 45 per cent in 2012.
"And now, because of the recession, there are super taxes on higher earners in Spain and France, so that's not an issue. You hear the odd story about some players not wanting to move to Britain because of the climate and the winter darkness.
"But let's face it, few people in the world would not be attracted to living in London, while earning a big pot of money. Or by the lure of Manchester City's riches, or the chance of playing for two of the most storied football clubs of all in Manchester United and Liverpool, which is where England's Champions League action is now.
"After this season's set-backs at the highest level, English clubs will buy big in the summer, of that there is no doubt, and they may buy well enough to reverse the trend of European exclusion at the closing stages."
