Why is it unacceptable? Genuinely.
If there are negotiations going on in the background then everything to have transpired so far seems pretty standard, would you rather we, as a club, took a lesser deal just to get rid? Why?
What makes you think it's his choice not to play? Everything you've wrote implies that Bridcutt is refusing to lace up when it could simply be the club keeping him out of the way to avoid injury/cup-tie (and the resulting lower fee) or keeping the guys that'll still be here on Feb 1st in the...