Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp admits they were priced out of a deal for Villarreal striker Giuseppe Rossi in January.
Redknapp confesses he needs to buy a new forward this summer.
"I'd like to get another front man, if I can," he said. "But they're difficult to find and they're big money. We went for Rossi and he was suddenly £35m. We could have had him before for £18m. But we didn't do it and it run on and suddenly ... It's a lot of money, isn't it? For us to pay that sort of money is frightening.
"I couldn't say what the chairman's got or how much we've got to spend. For me to say we'll spend over £20m on a striker ... the chairman will go, 'I'm sorry, Harry, it's not your money and we haven't got £20m.' I don't know."
