£1.6m plus add-ons for a league 1 CB with one pro season is not selling on the cheap. If he wants to leave, better to get that fee than be stuck with him sulking for a year until he goes for less next season.
It's not that simple and you know it. The moment someone comes in to triple a players wage, they'll want to go; exactly as you or I would if someone offered us triple the wage. If we play hard ball with him then two things will happen; he will resent OUFC for not letting him take a shot at the championship and earn significantly more money, and prospective players will think that we'll stand in their way and choose not to come to us. Rob Atkinson doesn't owe us a thing and standing in his way would be selfish on our part. OUFC have a really positive reputation and I think that's something that should be celebrated, not vilified every time we succeed at turning a nobody into a proper player.