And we spent £20m on Markovic, £150k/week on Milner etc..
The best and most successful sides have multiple quality options in each position. If we want to be one of the best sides we can't be satisfied with relying on a couple of £5-10m signings to consistently perform to a high standard if our nominal starters aren't fit, we need quality and obviously that sort of quality is going to cost more.
Fortunately Lallana is of that standard and we can happily rotate he, Coutinho or Sterling through those attacking midfield positions throughout the course of the season without suffering a significant drop off in quality in that part of the field. Personally I've got no issue with Lallana or the price we paid for him (£20-25m is pretty standard going for any half decent footballer in that part of the field these days) and thought he actually had a pretty good season. Unfortunately the output of creative players like him is generally a function of the potency of the striker they're feeding. No doubt the likes of Lallana, Coutinho & Sterling were stunted this season by the lack of a legitimate goalscorer ahead of them.
Looks like we're doing our best to correct that deficiency in terms of adding quality, movement and goals in the final third this window though which is great to see. With that in mind I think I'm going to enjoy watching you eat humble pie re: Lallana next season!