Han-Noah Massengo’s days as a Bristol City player could well be drawing to an inevitable close, but the Robins and the midfielder are having to play a waiting game over the player’s future.
As reported by RMC Sport in France on Wednesday, Ligue 1 side Nice have made the first inroads into signing the 20-year-old, while Premier League Leicester City and an unnamed Bundesliga club - likely to be Freiburg - are also monitoring the situation.
The Robins are yet to receive any formal offers for Massengo and, as it stands, that situation may continue for a few weeks, for reasons beyond the fact it’s the traditional late May quiet period in the market.
Although there are claims that Nice officials have held “several meetings” with Massengo’s representatives, there is significant upheaval behind the scenes in that corner of the south of France that impacts their immediate transfer plans.
Sporting director Julien Fournier is expected to be dismissed over the next week following a breakdown in relations with head coach Christophe Galtier and the team’s failure to qualify for the Europa League.
That will lead to a front-office restructure which could mean anything from former Liverpool sporting director Michael Edwards taking over, according to Nice Matin, to cycling chief Dave Brailsford, who is also being rumoured to be considered as a consultant.
Nice are owned by chemical giant INEOS, founded by British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, who also sponsor UCI World Tour team INEOS Grenadiers, formerly known at Team Sky, with Brailsford at the helm.
The reason why this is relevant to City is that whoever takes over as sporting director - Edwards, Brailsford or someone else - will essentially determine whether Massengo is a viable transfer option for the club. Sources in France have indicated that Nice could be willing to pay somewhere in the region of £6m for Massengo, as a maximum amount, but that situation could change depending on who replaces Fournier.
The counter-point to that, of course, is that the succession plan is already mapped out and Massengo forms part of that but, either way, there is significant enough change behind the scenes to indicate a swift resolution is unlikely, to say the least.
In April, Bristol World reported that Lyon scout Alex Jeannin had been to Ashton Gate to watch the France Under-19 international but their preference for a midfielder this summer is thought to be Caen’s Johann Lepenant, who could also be a more affordable option given he’s playing in Ligue 2.
Meanwhile, Leicester City are said to retain an interest in Massengo as Brendan Rodgers targets two central midfielders this summer. Boubakary Soumare’s days in England appear to be over followed a failed £17m transfer from Lille last summer, Hamza Choudhury could also be leaving the Foxes and, with just one year on his contract, Youri Tielemans appears a £25m target for Arsenal.
How much Massengo fits into Rodgers’ concept of a rebuild in that area of the field is unclear and there will be many questioning the 20-year-old’s readiness for Premier League football given his inconsistencies and positional lapses.
Massengo is undoubtedly a high-level talent who can, on given days, appear an elite Championship midfielder who, when his age and ceiling are taken into consideration, looks bound for the top-flight. But in a position and role that demands reliability, the former Monaco midfielder’s fluctuating form can often have too much of a detrimental impact on the team.
However, for a coach of Rodgers’ acumen, Massengo does represent a long-term project who could move to the Midlands as a fifth or sixth-choice option with a wish to steadily build his minutes up over several seasons, perhaps even loaning him out in his first campaign.
Whether or not that’s an ideal situation for Massengo is unclear, part of the reason he moved to City from Monaco in 2019 was because of the promise of first-team minutes and the 98 senior appearances he has accumulated before his 21st birthday, is unlikely to have been replicated at the Stade Louis II.
From City’s point of view, given it’s been six months since he was offered a new contract and it remains unsigned, unless there is a drastic change in circumstances - which is, admittedly, possible - the expectation is that he will be sold and it’s about maximising his value in the market.
Undoubtedly the best-case scenario for the Robins is to have multiple clubs involved, and a Premier League suitor certainly helps to drive a price up, but at the same time there will be aspects of their own summer business that will be tied to transfer revenue coming in.
Nigel Pearson said towards the end of the 2021/22 campaign that he doesn’t expect to spend any money - speaking purely in terms of transfer fees - but that could change should a decent fee for Massengo (or someone else) be received.
City’s challenge therefore is to balance the concept of value with the principle of time; first offers are rarely accepted, but how long can the Robins wait it out to try and drive the price up when they have their own considerations in mind.
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