Ordinarily, Paris St Germain signing a player from Serie A would not interest Albion.

But, as football searches for some kind of indication about what lies ahead, news from the French capital might have been picked up on closer to the Amex.

Mauro Icardi agreed to make his loan move from Internazionale to PSG more permanent for a fee of £45 million, potentially passing the £50 million mark with add-ons.

That is a reduction of about £18 million on the fee which was in place midway through the season.

It might be a one-off. More likely is it offers a big hint of the summer market which awaits, whenever that might be and however long it will last.

Albion will hope they are well-placed, whichever division they are in.

They have almost their entire current squad on contracts moving into next season.

That is usually a good thing, providing you are happy with your squad.

This year, it means less chance of trimming the wage bill by letting players go.

They might pick up a bargain if they go out to get the striker many observers suspect they need.

They also have several players coming back from loan stints which have gone well in second tiers in England and Germany.

There are others who have learnt a lot in their debut Premier League season.

And that goes for head coach Graham Potter too.

But, as Tony Bloom said two months ago, it does not look to be a summer for cashing in on assets, even if Albion were to perform a U-turn and try to do as much.

Football finance lecturer Kieran Maguire said: “Prices will collapse. Lots of sellers are desperate for cash and few buyers are in a position to splash out.

“Total spending on player signings by Premier League clubs last season fell by 20% compared to the previous campaign.

“But the net spend increased as there were not huge disposals such as Philippe Coutinho (who moved from Barcelona to Liverpool in the previous season).

“Pre-tax results in the Premier League went from a profit of £497 million to a loss of £126 million. Expect this to rise substantially in 2019-20.”

Despite the fall in player signings last season, the total cost of squads for Prem clubs increased to a record £6.8 billion, taking into account wages and payments on transfer fees.

Combined operating losses for the 20 top-tier clubs almost doubled to £394 million.

The Seagulls lost about £22 million last season.

They were also budgeting for a deficit this term as they strive to retain their Premier League place.

While the figure for that has not been disclosed, chief executive Paul Barber believes the projected loss will increase by 50-60% due to the effects of the Covid-19 crisis.

Maguire said: “The only way to cover these losses is via player sales or owner injections.

“In 2018, player sales made profits of £836 million but this fell to £434 million in 2019.

“What it will be in a post Covid-19 world is uncertain.”

If Albion are not going to get by through player sales. the onus again comes on to Bloom. With as much careful management as possible along the way.