Aberdeen chief executive Duncan Fraser is disappointed to see Jack Grimmer leave the Dons and head for Fulham. He considers the move is bad news for Scottish football. Fulham have confirmed the 17-year-old midfielder will join their development squad for the rest of the season, having agreed a deal until 2015.
The Dons had hoped to persuade the youngster's to stay at Pittodrie and claim his departure is another worrying example of young talent being lured south of the border by wealthy English clubs.Fraser said: "There is a bigger issue here for the SPL and Scottish football in that we are beginning to see young Scottish talent moving south before they have fully developed with the teams they signed for as youngsters.
The economic climate means nurturing home talent is the only way forward for all clubs in this country. However, if, after investing huge sums bringing youngsters through the ranks, top-flight English clubs can simply sign players for relatively small training compensation levels given the television income in England, and before the players have even had the opportunity to make an impact at top team level, then we have real challenges ahead of us.
It is an issue we will seek to raise with the SPL and the SFA to see what further steps can be taken to safeguard our clubs' interests."
Fraser went on: "In terms of this particular transfer, we received full value on the training compensation side, while agreeing to further add-on terms in order to allow the player to move south before his contract expired in the summer, as it is in everyone's best interests to bring this matter to a conclusion. Further, it will enable young talented under-19 players at the club, who want to be here, to stake a claim to step up which is what we want them to do. However disappointed we are in relation to this development, we wish Jack the very best for the future."
The midfielder was the youngest Aberdeen first-team player when he made his debut against Rangers in April 2010, aged just 16 years, two months and 13 days. Fraser said: "While we made Jack an extremely good offer to remain at Pittodrie, having signed him straight from school, he has chosen to move on.
When Craig (Brown) and I met with Jack recently, Craig emphasised that he would continue to be developed by being involved with the first team with a view to him becoming a first-team squad member next season.
From a football perspective, everyone at the club hoped that he should remain with the club to complete his development, which we believe in the long term would have been in his best interests.
However, in the end, he and his advisor thought otherwise. It was clear that a decision to move south was already the preferred option which is disappointing."
Source: FOOTYMAD
