Had a little nosy at the threads on Fernandinho when we signed him. Fair few people suggested that his fee was outrageous, that he was a jack of all trades but a master of none, and that his lack of Brazilian caps at his age proved he wasn't really a top player. A lot of very underwhelmed posters. Similar to a lot of the negativity in this thread.
I'm not saying that Phillips will turn out to be half as good as Ferna, but it is interesting how people are oddly obsessed with what they see as a value for a player. Ultimately a player is either a success or a failure, it's binary. There isn't a 'fee' at which a player is less of a failure nor a 'fee' at which a player becomes more of a success.