Bristol City CEO Phil Alexander insists the Robins summer transfer business will not be determined by the sale of Alex Scott, with money to spend in the window irrespective of whether the midfielder leaves or remains in BS3.
City are looking to conclude a number of deals as early as possible in the off-season with Aberdeen’s Ross McCrorie, Jack Currie of AFC Wimbledon and Crystal Palace defender Jake O’Brien the known targets, with other players also under consideration.
Scott’s future at the club beyond this summer is uncertain given the breadth of interest from a host of Premier League clubs and an increasing feeling that the time is now right for the teenager to make the step up.
City’s valuation of the Championship’s Young Player of the Season stands at £25million as a baseline with the potential for that to rise should multiple clubs bid for the 19-year-old, a figure that would represent a huge injection of revenue for the club - the most they’ve received for four years.
That, in turn, could then be reinvested in the first team, placing City at a distinct advantage over many of their Championship rivals not in receipt of parachute payments however, speaking on BBC Radio Bristol, Alexander has indicated the club are looking to strengthen the squad even with the possibility of Scott staying for another season.
The Robins cut their losses by 25.7 per cent in their accounts ending 2022, from £38.4m to £28.5m, aided by a 14.6 per cent decrease in salary expenditure from £31.5m to £26.9m. Both have reduced further over the last 12 months, also assisted by the £10.5m sale of Antoine Semenyo to Bournemouth, while the sizeable contracts from the summer of 2019 of Dan Bentley, Tomas Kalas and Jay Dasilva will no longer be on the books.
As a result, City are in a stronger financial position than they’ve been in for any of the five transfer windows Nigel Pearson has been involved in since taking over, although that could be even further enhanced should a deal involving Scott be brokered.
“We’ve earmarked some players which we’d like to bring in pretty quickly in the summer, I think Nigel and Tinns have alluded to that,” Alexander told BBC Radio Bristol. “We have some money for that but it has to be the right players, they’ve got to the right people who can work within the group that ultimately Nigel will sign off on.
"We have got some money to spend and bring in. If Alex does go, then potentially there could be some more players coming in as well, but it’s not an exact science, this whole thing, we’re ready for anything that happens with Alex. We haven’t had any contact with anyone as yet. Every time I pick up a paper he’s linked with a new and different club.
“He’s such a lovely guy. I spent some time with him last weekend up in London at the Football League awards, which you know he won the Young Player of the Year award, just getting to know him, he’s so grounded, he enjoys his time at the club, he’s got some great friends and I don’t think he’s in any major rush to go.
"He’ll make his decision when there’s a decision to be made but at the moment he’s still a Bristol City player, we’re counting him as part of our plans next season and we’ll see how that manifests itself over the summer.”
There is a new contract offer on the table for Scott which has continued a theme over the last six months of trying to tie down their best talent to long-term agreements that not only deliver a strong show of faith in the individual but also safeguard City in the market.
Semenyo’s sale in January, for example, was as much driven by the need to move the Ghana international on as he entered the final 18 months of his deal - a situation that will be the same with Scott next year should he stay for the 2023/24 season kick-off.
So far this year, City have announced new contracts for goalkeeper Max O’Leary, defenders George Tanner and Rob Atkinson, plus veteran striker Nahki Wells.
Talks remain ongoing with Zak Vyner, with his 12-month option already activated, while Tommy Conway and Sam Bell are under contract until 2025, and Cam Pring 2024 with a year option, as City look to protect their assets or, at the very least, put themselves in a position where they can seek maximum value in the market for their talent.
“The club’s gone through a fairly difficult period over the last 2-3 years,” Alexander added. “The club has tried to bring costs down in line with the financial regulations in the Football League and successfully achieved that.
“We’ve still got a few more players that are part of the legacy of that era but we are working together to make sure the players that we do bring in, we get the best deals we possibly can and I’ve said on lots of different occasions, internally and externally, because we’re reducing our cost base at the football club it doesn’t necessarily mean we’re reducing our ambition. It’s not the case.
“We still want to be pushing in the top six next year and we’re going to be in the marketplace looking for deals, looking for the right players at the right prices and we’ll be announcing them as soon as they’re done.
“As of right now there’s still a lot of work going on, we’ve been looking at players over the last 2-3 months in terms of offering new contracts - Max O’Leary, George Tanner, most recently Rob Atkinson - so these are all good things we’re doing for the club, protecting the assets for the future.”
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