Han-Noah Massengo insists he’ll “make the most” out of the situation having been exiled to the Bristol City Under-21s, with no obvious return to the first-team matchday squad as his contract at Ashton Gate runs down.
Massengo has started the last four games for the Under-21 side after a poor performance at Birmingham City last month with Nigel Pearson admitting that he’ll only use him if he needs to, claiming the French midfielder has fallen down the hierarchy as he's exploring opportunities beyond BS3.
Massengo is out of contract next summer and with an offer of a new deal having been left unsigned since the end of last year, it increasingly appears that he may have played his last game for the Robins. He can sign a pre-contract agreement with a club outside of England in the January transfer window.
Notably, the former France Under-19 international was selected to play for the U21s against Watford on Tuesday afternoon, instead of being called up to the senior set-up for their Carabao Cup tie later in the evening against Lincoln City, with academy midfielder Dylan Kadji selected in the starting XI.
Massengo, who continues to train with the first-team, has not spoken publicly since the end of last season when Bristol Live attended a community event involving his former teammates from Paris. He has not been put forward for pre or post-match press conferences all season, as was the case with Famara Diedhiou in his final season for City, as the club - understandably - look to control the messaging around his future.
But taking to Instagram, just under 24 hours after playing for the U21s with City then losing 3-1 to Lincoln and exiting the Carabao Cup at the third round stage, Massengo said: “Controlling what’s controllable. Experiencing a new challenge on the football journey but I’ll make the most out of it. Always grateful to put on the shirt. You Reds.”
Former Robins hero Korey Smith, a mentor to Massengo during his first season in England, was among those to reply as he said: "Keep grinding my boy."
Massengo has made 111 appearances for City since signing from Monaco in the summer of 2019 and showed significant development under Pearson during last season, having stalled between Lee Johnson’s and Dean Holden’s times in charge.
However, with City unable to sell the midfielder over the most recent transfer window due to a lack of credible bids, they’ve been left in the difficult position of a prized asset leaving the football club for minimal compensation once his contract expires.
Pearson was open and honest about the situation when he addressed it last month, admitting that he’d rather promote individuals, such as Kadji, who he knew would be part of the club beyond next year, then playing someone who has effectively rejected terms and indicated a desire to move on.
Massengo’s case is different to that of Dan Bentley, Nahki Wells, Jay Dasilva and the other first-team players whose agreements also expire in 2023, because they are yet to be offered extensions, something that won’t happen until much later in the season.
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