define "funded". There are two elements, the actual available liquid cash to transfer for purchase of a players contract, and FFP.
Reality is we could probably have spent more than we did, significantly more. One of the key gamble points is that when you sell a player the whole guaranteed fee is on your FFP straight away, giving you a greater allowance. But any purchases are amortised over a contract length, usually 3 or 4 seasons. So If you sold a player for 10m, you could gamble and sign 4 players for 10m each on four year contracts and still be within FFP. The problem happens year 2, when you would need another 10m sale to stand still.
From a cash perspective, you don't tend to get the fee all up front. If you sell a player for 10m, it might be paid in 4 installments of 2.5m over 2 seasons, as an example.. That makes an issue when signing players, as you might have a cash imbalance, meaning you need to take loans to complete purchases.
With the repeated big money sales, in recent years, I'd be disappointed if we do not spend significant money in the summer. You can only play the safe strategy so long, and with your FFP being a 3 year window, sales will drop off the allowance after awhile, you have to use it or lose it as far as your FFP budget goes. we are missing a trick if we don't invest heavy this summer.
