I have no idea what our striker budget is, so I can't really answer that. I accept that the club know far more than I do, but to me 3.5m seems cheap for a Premier League class defender. I expect they know what they are doing and will get him a little cheaper.
What worries me, is that if we don't think he's worth 3.5m, is he good enough for the Premier League? I understand we don't want to pay it if we don't have to, but......