As Dave Seddon said though, the issue is if Rangers don't pay us, we're not covered by the EPL or EFL for that money.It’s the norm for a transfer fee to be spread out over the course of the player’s contract.
North End might always want to pay fees up front, on the rare occasion we do spend money, but that’s pretty uncommon nowadays.
I think that's the issue rather than the fee paid over a few years. It wouldn't be an issue if it was an English side offering similar.