One of my pet hates in football is "we wouldn't have got anywhere without ____"
Villa - Abraham, McGinn, Mings
Derby - Lawrence, Wilson, Mount
Liverpool - Salah, Mane, Firminho,
Man C - Aguero, Sterling
Most teams that do well have 2 or 3 stand out performers. The loan market is there and very much used in the Championship while successful Premier League teams have 2 or 3 also.
We wouldn't have been near the play offs without Barnes and Gayle but we did have them and finished 4th.
It's up to scouts and management now to replace those performance levels and goals with new individuals that we can afford. It won't be easy, it also won't be impossible.