He is on record, in what is believed to be the true version of the Fans Forum minutes as follows in the extract I have cut and pasted as below.
GM – Stated Jones had been part of an instrumental time at the club with key players
coming through the academy, notably Adam Wharton who was sold for what appears to be
below market value to pay bills, with no reinvestment into the squad with those funds.
SS- Stated that no one knew Wharton would be a good player at youth level whilst AO
Stated no one pays more for a championship player, GM – Gave the recent £40m plus addons
sale of Jobe Bellingham as a rebuttal, whilst refuting SS Claim on Wharton who had
been the worse kept secret in years as a player very much expected to progress to the first
team since during the emergence of his brother. AO Acknowledged, other championship
players have gone for much more money than the previous suggestion of Wharton’s value
being market value.