There's not really any better alternative to what we're doing though unless Ryan was to sign a new contract with us. If we kept Ryan until January because no club met his asking price in this window, he would sign a PCA as you say and leave for nothing next summer. The other option would be to hope that a club was willing to pay £1 million, or whatever you deem to be his true worth, in this window - which might not happen. That's a pretty big risk to take; cash up front and a loan back until the end of the season is the best option for us.
However, it could be argued that the board should have got him tied up on a long-term deal much sooner which I certainly agree with.
Ryan is contracted to us till 2017 due to having a year's option on his existing contract so would not have left for nothing next summer