This notion, also propagated by some on this forum, that quality players will somehow be cheaper towards the latter part of the window, is no longer true. Teams within the Premier League, especially, are loathe to sell quality for knock down prices. We've seen this with a relegated Newcastle side demanding a massive fee for Sissoko. We've seen it with West Brom refusing to sell Berahino on our terms. We've seen other top clubs like Chelsea (David Luiz and Marcos Alonso) and Arsenal (Shodkran Mustafi) pay large deadline day fees for players they needed to plug holes in their squad.
Unless it's a pure release clause deal like Dembele or Son were, a loan deal for a surplus player on a big wage (we rarely go for those), or we are dealing with a wantaway younger player from abroad on a contract running down, we're going to find signing players difficult if we wait until the last few days of the window. I don't think Everton will sell Barkley, nor will Bournemouth sell King, on Levy's terms at the end of the window.
Our smartest strategy would be to focus on players with release clauses and contracts running down abroad. Pereira, Seri and Keita Balde are all going to be on the move and can collectively be had for fees that match what we've sold others for this summer. Their wage demands will be within our structure. If we signed those three players, we'd be an excellent shape moving forward.
Even smarter is to be courting the players with a year left!