Bristol City CEO Richard Gould remains hopeful Han-Noah Massengo will sign a new contract at Ashton Gate but is refusing to put a timeline on the situation as the Frenchman approaches the final 12 months of his deal.
Massengo has had an offer on the table since before Christmas, after City rebuffed a substantial offer from Premier League Watford last summer but with one game of the season remaining, the 21-year-old is yet to commit.
The issue for City is that once the summer window closes, Massengo’s value begins to plummet and they then run the risk of losing him for minimal compensation in 2023 when his agreement expires.
But Gould still wants to give the midfielder time to make the right decision. Speaking to Bristol Live on Friday, Massengo said nothing is decided and there is a sense, as indicated by Gould, that he is surveying and considering all his options - as is expected - before making his final decision.
Much like Famara Diedhiou in the summer before his eventual departure, the expected transfer bids for the Senegalese never materialised due to the impact of Covid-19 on the transfer market. And although it’s two years on, and Massengo significantly younger than the striker, possessing a higher ceiling and representing true value for potential suitors - with Ligue 1 side Lyon among those to have scouted him - the financial squeeze on clubs across the world may mean no reasonable bids are forthcoming, or are not of a level above City.
Massengo was an unused substitute in the 5-0 win over Hull City on Saturday but was mobbed by Robins fans as he left the field and remains a popular figure at the club.
“We’ve had an offer with Han since well before Christmas and we are hoping that he will come round to signing it,” Gould told BBC Radio Bristol. “There are always crossroads in everyone’s careers and they will want to have options and choices, we’ve got a very good option for him. It depends if he wants to choose it.
“It works at a player level and also agents and intermediaries are always representing these players, seeking to represent their best interests. It is quite a strange market because post-Covid nobody is quite sure where things are. The transfer market collapsed by about 70 per cent, the Premier League is making a lot of purchases but a lot of those are for players from abroad.
“There’s a degree of uncertainty to where the market is and that’s for players as well as clubs. Players, when they’re looking at options, will want to know what value is attached to them.
“Han-Noah knows what value is attached to the offer that we’ve made him, which is a good offer, it’s up to him though.
“There isn’t a deadline. I don’t like working to deadlines because, if I can help it, that will then mean that things are taken out of context. It’s the same with all of our players that are out of context in the summer. We’ve got a lot of them and we’ll be working through the options on an individual basis.”
Massengo, Antoine Semenyo and Alex Scott are all likely to be subject of transfer speculation across the summer window given their age, talent and room for development, with City also in a position where they have to raise some transfer revenue.
Losses of £38.4m for 2020/21 were punctuated by an inability to raise significant revenue in the market, as was the case in previous windows.
Gould accepts that with the resources of the 20 Premier League clubs you’re always at the mercy of what they’re capable of spending but City will work as hard as possible to retain their best talent for next season and beyond.
On Thursday, Scott spoke with real conviction about the perils of making the move to the Premier League too soon having enjoyed an impressive breakthrough campaign in his first professional season. Semenyo, meanwhile, is finishing 2021/22 in blistering form with another outstanding performance in the 5-0 win over Hull.
Whereas Scott is contracted until 2025, Semenyo's deal expires next summer and although the Robins have an option of another 12 months they have offered the 22-year-old fresh terms but, like Massengo, it remains unsigned.
“We want to keep our best players for as long as possible and in truth we also want our players to be able to play at the highest level possible and that includes playing in the Premier League,” Gould added. “We very much want to get the Premier League and it’s very much a race, we want to be in the Premier League in a timeframe that suits our players.
“We are looking to keep hold of our best players this summer and for as long as we possibly can.
“Everybody other than Manchester City is a selling team in some way shape or form and the finances that are available in the Premier League are insane compared to what we’re doing here.
“They’re insane in the Championship. Look at our game against Sheffield United a couple of weeks ago, they started that game with a £50 million advantage over us. Money talks.”
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