Promise Player that the team will improve to meet his ambitions

I have managed to promote from league two up to the championship over the course of 5/6 seasons. My first season in the championship was all about survival, but last season we finished just outside the playoffs.

One of my best players is a 24yo MC, who has been with me for 3 seasons, and has seen the club move upwards throughout his tenure. He now wants to move to a bigger club. Fair enough I suppose, he is probably good enough for a mid-table premiership side. However, I would like to keep him, so I go to private chat and say that the club will improve to meet his ambitions. This is fair enough, as I would hope to be able to promote again sometime over the next couple of season. The thing is, this is now listed as a promise on the player page, but is worded slightly differently in that it infers that the club will signplayers to improve the squad.

We have a tiny transfer budget. In other people experience, will the player be happy if we continue to improve , i.e. get into the playoffs, or is the promise that the club will improve a direct promise that we will go and buy a load of expensive players - which is not going to happen? I have signed two absolute star players on free transfers since his request, but that has made no discernible difference to my unhappy player.

From what I have seen, if you keep winning, this problem takes care of itself. At worst, the player will still want to move, but they will keep performing for you regardless. Often I end up selling these players anyway because they bring in a big chunk of money that I can spend on more bargain players, building club value in the process.

I had this with Jack Cork at Southampton, stayed there even after running away with the Championship and signing Premiership-caliber players such as Karim Aït Fana. Eventually had to sell him as it showed no signs of abating. And after all that talk of Southampton not being ambitious enough for him, he joins Birmingham, who ends up finishing lower than Southampton that first season in the Prem. Oy vey.