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'It's madness!' - Fulham boss Parker fumes after Liverpool ordered to pay 'minimal' fee for Elliott
The Reds will pay up to £4.3 million ($6m) to the London outfit in compensation but that has not appeased the coach at Craven Cottage
Fulham manager Scott Parker has launched a frustrated outburst over a tribunal's ruling that Liverpool must pay an initial £1.5 million for Harvey Elliott, stating that it is "madness" that the Cottagers will not see what he feels is appropriate compensation for the teenager's talents.
The Professional Football Compensation Committee ordered the Reds to pay an initial £1.5m, plus £2.8m in performance-related clauses for a maximum total of £4.3m ($6m), following a protracted saga surrounding disagreements over a fee for the then-16-year-old in 2019.
Fulham said they were "pleased" with the outcome in a short statement following the ruling, but those sentiments do not appear to extend to their coach, who remains angered that his side will likely not see even half of their original asking price of £8m ($11m).
What Parker said
With Elliott, currently loaned out at Blackburn, needing to make 100 appearances for Liverpool and win an England cap to earn the full fee, the Cottagers boss took aim at the tribunal's ruling.
“I was disappointed in it all because this is a player that had been developed at this club for a long, long time," Parker said.
“We gave him his debut. You don’t want to go and spend £20-30m on players. That’s why the academy is so important for us. We want to develop these players. But we have developed that player for a big club to take him.
“Four million quid for a player we developed and thought the world of, to then leave like he did, is madness really. Harvey Elliott has the potential to be a top-class football player but Liverpool have taken him off us for minimal numbers for what he’s capable of.”
Goal's view on Elliott's fee
"It's fair to say that, for Liverpool, this is a very good outcome. Fulham had hoped for at least double the final fee, and perhaps even more.
"Given Elliott's record-breaking feats - he became the youngest ever Premier League player before he left Craven Cottage, and has since became the youngest player ever to start a game for Liverpool - and his excellent form for Blackburn this season, plenty expected them to get what they wanted.
"In the end, though, the fee looks heavily weighted in Liverpool's favour. Plenty of people at Anfield expect him to become a first-teamer, even if the path is a very tough one to tread, and in years to come that £4m figure could well look slim. Indeed, Liverpool could likely sell him for much more than that already.
"They won't, though. He'll return to Anfield at the end of the season all the better for his experience in the Championship. Fulham's loss is very much Liverpool's gain."
Neil Jones, Liverpool correspondent
