Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Bristol Post
Bristol Post
Sport
Richard Forrester

Five transfer questions for Nigel Pearson as all Bristol City's attention turn to recruitment

Five players leaving the club including Callum O'Dowda and one player coming through the door in Mark Sykes means the long-awaited changes are coming into play.

There's going to be a lot more twists and turns as the summer goes on with manager Nigel Pearson admitting he is unlikely to have much of a summer break - and if he does, he'll be right next to his phone.

With other names to make the move to Ashton Gate and with lingering decisions surrounding the futures of Timm Klose and Robbie Cundy, we take a look at five key questions ahead of the summer window.

Will Nigel Pearson get to spend transfer revenue generated?

City's financial position remains precarious after posting their losses of £38.4million and there's no secret of the need to help balance the books meaning one or two big names will leave at some point in the near future.

Han-Noah Massengo, Antoine Semenyo and Alex Scott are the obvious players that fall into that conversation and between the trio, City can raise a hefty pot of cash if they play their cards right.

Pearson stated during a press conference towards the end of the season that he is unlikely to have any money to spend during the window. He later changed tack by stating there may be some cash available at his disposal but it's clear this will be a frugal summer - emphasised by the arrival of Sykes on a free transfer.

Massengo is the player that is most likely to leave and his emotional farewell at the end of the Huddersfield game all-but confirmed his inevitable departure - although Pearson pointed out after the game that the club have yet to receive an offer.

CEO Richard Gould spoke to BBC Bristol before the end of the season in which he was asked exactly the question: "Say four players left, would their salary be within the budget for next year's squad and does Nigel get every penny of that?"

Gould responded: "That's what we're working from."

Han-Noah Massengo is likely to be sold this summer (Jon Hobley/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Any hope of transfer windfalls?

The simple answer is yes, very much so. There could be a few former Bristol City players caught up in the transfer rumour mill this summer starting with Josh Brownhill.

The Burnley midfielder has been one of the Clarets' best performers this season and was recently linked with a move to West Ham. The Hammers have reportedly been scouting him for the past 18 months with David Moyes looking to enhance his squad ahead of another European campaign and replace Mark Noble in the middle.

Leeds and Everton have also reportedly shown an interest and early talk suggests he could fetch in the region of £15million, although that figure will rise depending on the number of clubs interested.

Burnley also paid £9m for him in January 2020 so it wouldn't be farfetched to suggest they could ask for a lot more having cemented his Premier League reputation. Bristol City included a sell-on clause in the deal when he left the club meaning they will pocket anywhere between 10 and 20% of the final transfer fee.

It's likely he will leave Turf Moor this summer, almost certainly if they fail to avoid Premier League relegation and any extra cash in the coffers would be happily received.

Bournemouth's promotion to the Premier League means Lloyd Kelly's chances of moving on are seemingly slimmer. The 23-year-old has been linked with a move to Newcastle who have cash to burn.

Despite Scott Parker's recent comments that Kelly can become a top Premier League centre-half, he is still not quite the finished article and showed moments of inconsistency last season.

If Kelly did move, his value has rocketed since City sold him for around £15million in 2019 and therefore would earn themselves a nice cash bonus but promotion means they may have to sit on their hands and wait for that one to take place.

Finally, Adam Webster could be the player who makes one of the big money moves of the Premier League transfer window this summer but an injury picked up in February has potentially put doubt on that. He finally made his return in the draw with Leeds on Sunday.

The Mirror reported in February how Chelsea are looking towards Webster following his fine campaign for Brighton and as a replacement for Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen - both who are leaving Stamford Bridge in the summer.

However, the Seagulls are likely to demand in the region of £50million for the central defender, a price that may prove too steep even for Chelsea. They're also facing difficulties of their own having been placed under a transfer embargo in the midst of the takeover uncertainty.

Can City offload the four players who are free to leave?

In Pearson's interview with BBC's Sounds of the City on Monday, the manager spoke about four contracted players who have been told they are free to leave this summer - and Nahki Wells wasn't one of them.

Kasey Palmer is one of those and City are keen to let the midfielder leave permanently instead of on a loan deal. There is likely to be interest in Palmer, as there was in January with QPR, Birmingham and Huddersfield all keen.

The biggest stumbling block, as City will find with a number of players, is likely to be his wages considering he is one of the highest earners at the club. One possible scenario is that City allow Palmer to leave for nothing with just a year on his contract to remove the wages off the books.

Defender Taylor Moore is also expected to leave after he returned from a loan deal with Hearts. The Scottish club deciding not to take him on permanently having sat on the periphery of the first team. There shouldn't be any major difficulties, considering he is believed to be in the lower category of City wages and would be deemed relatively risk-free for other clubs.

Tyreeq Bakinson is also free to leave, following his conflict of differences with Pearson. The manager was blunt when asked whether the midfielder had a future at the Robins when returning from a loan spell with Ipswich. The answer was an emphatic no.

Bakinson received relatively positive praise following his performances at the Tractor Boys in League One but it remains to be seen whether they will exercise the option to make it permanent. Either way, with his low wages and potential, there should be no problems in letting him develop his career elsewhere.

Finally, Zak Vyner is another who is expected to leave the club having fallen out of favour. He has a contract until 2023 and City will look to generate any funds possible by letting him leave this summer. Again, it will be a surprise if he remained a City player beyond the summer.

How many defenders will Pearson sign?

Well, a lot of that depends on whether they can secure the futures of Timm Klose and Robbie Cundy who are both still negotiating their contracts.

If the answer is yes, then Pearson will likely move for at least two - a centre-back and a wing-back. He's made it no secret to shore up the backline after last season's debacle and a central defender remains at the top of his transfer list.

If one does come in, that will mean Cundy, Klose, Rob Atkinson, Tomas Kalas, Cam Pring, Ryley Towler and Duncan Idehen will all be vying for starting roles. Nathan Baker also remains in the picture but his well-being is still unknown following his recovery from concussion.

On the chance that either Cundy or Klose leave, Pearson will need to move for at least two central defenders to add competition to his ranks. Idehen, despite his late progress, is unlikely to remain a first-team starter for the time being and the same can be said for youngster Towler.

A right wing-back is also top of the list with Forest Green's Kane Wilson on the shortlist and transfer links with Arsenal youngster Ryan Alebiosu. George Tanner will be part of the squad next season but Pearson will be keen to rotate the youngster to help aid his development.

Can City expect any loan signings?

While loan signings can be so influential for Championship sides to get out of the division, it's not a proposition Pearson is eager to entertain.

Pearson has been asked about potentially taking advantage of the loan market in the past and has remained stubborn in his responses. He would rather give his own players the opportunity to develop than someone else's. Fair enough.

He also alludes to the fact that loan signings usually mean having to guarantee game time as part of a stipulation to the deal. Again, something Pearson is reluctant to accept.

Pearson is also keen to highlight how expensive it can be to bring in loan players from Premier League clubs, considering their high wages and usually an unproven track record.

Although he hasn't entirely ruled out the prospect when in December, he said: "The loan market is always important but I would prefer, wherever possible, to bring in players that are going to be our players."

Gould echoed Pearson's statements in an interview last month, saying: "The loan market with the Premier League clubs is that they want you to put games into their players and they want you to pay tens of thousands of pounds for the honour of doing it and frankly, often we’d rather put games into our own talent rather than somebody else.

"That position is changing somewhat and there’s a lot of players at Premier League academies playing under 23 football looking at the likes of us, thinking, “are their careers developing by getting proper appearances and playing football?”

Considering the amount of talent amongst the City youth side, it seems unlikely Pearson will look towards the loan market for the second consecutive season.

SIGN UP: For our daily Robins newsletter, bringing you the latest from Ashton Gate

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.