The Bristol City squad returned for pre-season training on Monday but two players were noticeable by the absence at the High Performance Centre.
Bristol Live understands that neither playmaker Kasey Palmer nor centre-back Robbie Cundy joined the rest of the members of the Robins first-team squad who are fit, available and have not been on international duty over the last few weeks.
Palmer has been told by manager Nigel Pearson his future lies away from the club and the playmaker is expected to complete a permanent switch to Championship rivals Coventry City this week, effectively on a free transfer so City can avoid paying the final year of his contract representing a saving in excess of £1million.
The 25-year-old was on the periphery of the squad last season, making just one Championship start and didn’t feature in the league after October 19. Having failed to move him on in January, the Robins have found Palmer a new home, three years after he signed in BS3 for around £3.5m from Chelsea.
Cundy’s situation is a little more complex with the central defender out of contract in 10 days but with an offer of a new deal on the table from the club since the end of last season.
The 25-year-old only made his debut for City in January, after a series of loan moves and injury issues, and developed over the second half of the campaign into a credible first-team option for Pearson.
But the former Bath City defender’s reticence at signing a new contract, coupled with interest in League One, raises the possibility that he may soon be leaving the club on a free transfer.
On paper, Pearson has an abundance of centre-backs at his disposal but, in reality, there remain doubts over the futures of Cundy, Nathan Baker, Tomas Kalas, Taylor Moore and Zak Vyner, and the City manager is targeting two more defenders in the summer transfer window.
Kalas reported for duty at the HPC having undergone groin surgery towards the end of last season having not played since a 2-1 defeat to Birmingham City on March 5, while Moore also took part in a first City training session since last summer after spending the 2021/22 season on loan at Hearts.
Forwards Andi Weimann and Nahki Wells were not present due to their participation in the Nations Leagues earlier this month for Austria and Bermuda, respectively, meaning their summer break started later than their teammates. Midfielder Alex Scott, meanwhile, is away with the England Under-19 squad at the European Championships in Slovakia.
New signings Kal Naismith, Mark Sykes and Kane Wilson were seen arriving at Failand having moved to the club earlier in the summer on free transfers from Luton Town, Oxford United Forest Green Rovers, respectively.
Naismith has a friendly and familiar face already in the City dressing room in the form of former Wigan Athletic teammate Joe Wiliams who treated the Scot to a “Father’s Day” meal in Bristol on Sunday night, albeit making the new defender foot the bill.
"He's got a new contract so I thought he should spend his money wisely,” Williams said. “I took him out for Father's Day. He owed me one because he was stuck in the hotel bored on his own."
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