Fulham are reluctant to pay Steve Cooper's compensation fee in order to bring him to Craven Cottage this summer.

What's the talk?

That's according to a report by Football League World, who claim that Shahid Khan is not currently prepared to pay the £3m compensation fee it would require to get Cooper out of his current contract with Swansea City.

Sky Sports reported on Sunday that Scott Parker is set to leave the west London side in the next 48 hours before taking over at Fulham's Championship rivals AFC Bournemouth, meaning that the Cottagers are set to be managerless with pre-season due to start in a matter of weeks.

Khan must pay

While it is understandable that Khan may not want to pay such a large amount of money in order to appoint Parker's successor at Craven Cottage this summer, when taking into account Cooper's record in the Championship with Swansea, in addition to sorting out the managerial situation at Fulham well before pre-season starts and the transfer window ends, there should be enough evidence to convince the club's owner to cough up for the Swans boss.

Indeed, having taken over from a Graham Potter led Swansea side who had finished the previous campaign in 10th, Cooper has since guided the Welsh team to consecutive top-six finishes in the Championship, with improvements both in points and performance in the play-offs having been made each year.

The Welshman has also gained a reputation for developing young players, something that is undoubtedly helped by winning the U17 World Cup with England, as well as earning praise for the tactical diversity of his Swansea side.

And, with it seeming a near certainty that Parker will be moving onto pastures new this summer, considering Cooper's record, it could be easily argued that the 41-year-old is actually an upgrade on the outgoing Fulham coach, with his appointment appearing to do no harm at all to the Cottagers' hopes of an immediate return to the Premier League next season.

As such, if Khan does not pay up for the Swansea City manager this summer, and, for whatever reason, Fulham should fail in their promotion push next term, the owner's decision would undoubtedly be looked back on as one of his worst in his time at the club, as well as one that would leave fans fuming.

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