Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan has slammed a Football League tribunal for deciding Tottenham should pay an initial £700,000 for the club's youngest ever player, John Bostock.
The 16-year-old midfielder agreed a five-year contract with Spurs when his Palace deal expired last week but the clubs went to arbitration when they could not agree a fee.
Jordan wanted in the region of £5million for the player, who was still 15 when he made his first-team debut in October.
But the tribunal settled on a fee rising to £1.25million.
Jordan said in the Times: "I feel mugged and brutalised, it is scandalous, and this sends a message to smaller clubs.
"Why bother to bring players through if tribunals cannot reflect the work that has gone in?"
He added in the Daily Mail: "You get players like Aaron Ramsey, who has gone for £5million from Cardiff to Arsenal because that is the UK transfer market.
"The tribunal, in my view, are supposed to reflect the conditions of the transfer market place. And they came up with a figure of £700,000 for a player who has captained his country at under-17 level, who is perceived to be one of the best youngsters in the country and is being chased by Barcelona, Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea.
"We had a £900,000 offer from Chelsea when he was 14 which we turned down. It's beyond me and it makes me question why I bother with football.
"I have an academy who have produced a world-class footballer for someone else and got paid two-and-sixpence for it."
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Simon Jordan normally speaks with a good deal of common sense but he has got it swrong this time! His beef if any, should be in relation to the total amount that Spurs may have to pay, not the amount up front. - If Bostock goes on to become as good as Jordon thinks then £1.25million could become a very good deal for Spurs. But seing as they have to nurse his talents until then £700,000 is fair, they are after all only buying promise - not the finished article.
what a load of cobblers from both of you!!! He is right to want to protect his interests. I bet he is gutted that Arsenal didn't want him, as they have paid market value for Ramsey.
Like Jordan or not, he uses facts - England captain at U17 level (even though he was 2 years younger at the time), played in the 2nd highest tier of English professional football at 15 (!) no wonder he is bitter. the kid will be ruined by spurs, like routledge & lennon before him, and Palace will be left with less than a million for someone they have nurtured for the last 8 years.
the 5 million you refer to is not an upfront fee, but appearance/internationals based, which had he been successful would have been a steal for both sides.
football should hang its head in shame the way the smaller clubs are being treated these days.
I wonder if Jordan would have been moaning if he had been the one getting the player and only having to pay that amount? Besides this, what have Palace done in the recent past? The only thing that sticks in my mind is having a big glass building burn down a long long time ago!!!
What a bloomin whinger that Jordan bloke is! Bostock will no doubt fade away like a Pennant or many other teenage prodigys that have made little impact once they play in the big boys league.
For Jordan to want £5million for someone who is unlikely to feature in the first team at Tottenham until 3 or 4 years is just pure greed! £700,000 is a fair evaluation for someone so young and so inexperienced, he may have the world ahead of him but just because he has excelled in his age group doesn't mean he is guarenteed to become world class!
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