With Bristol City already concluding the signings of three new additions, Nigel Pearson's summer recruitment plan is in full swing.
However, he is unlikely to stop there with areas of the squad that still require fine-tuning and assessing. The centre of midfield is one of those with a defence-minded player towards the top of the shortlist.
Another central defender could be in the offering despite the growing number of players in that position among the City while a new striker would also make sense to provide back-up and competition especially considering the ongoing uncertainty of Nahki Wells' future.
That potential departure is likely to drag on throughout the summer considering his high wages. Whether the club can retrieve a transfer fee for his signature with a year left on his deal is likely to become apparent over the course of the next 10 weeks.
Or it could be a similar situation to Kasey Palmer with the midfielder set to join Coventry for no transfer fee despite having a contract until 2023 with the club happy to get his wages off the books.
The transfer window is now open and the beauty of the rumour mill links clubs to players completely out of the blue, particularly with some agents looking to generate interest for their clients.
That was the case for Bristol City yesterday who were linked with two names in particular. Here we give you a quick rundown of the players City are interested in or have been linked with.
Andy Rinomhota
Yesterday was exactly a month to the day that Reading offered the defensive midfielder a new contract. As of today, Rinomhota has yet to give the Royals a response on his future.
That is obviously good news from a Bristol City perspective who are still closely monitoring his situation with their Championship rivals.
While it remains unclear whether City have made contact with Rinomhota or offered him an enticing deal to head across the M4 to BS3, Bristol Live can confirm he is certainly a player under consideration.
Manager Nigel Pearson wants a tough tackler in his side and Rinomhota certainly has the attributes to suggest he is a player that the club were missing last season. The manager's comments that he "didn't have a one" relating to a defensive midfielder after the home defeat to Birmingham seemed to strike a chord.
There is expected to be competition from the player with Bristol Live already confirming Stoke City are one of the sides who are looking into his availability. Rinomhota is likely to be weighing up and assessing all his options before making a final decision.
With a contract at the Royals until July 1, he still has time to decide on his next move but clubs across the Championship, including Bristol City, are set to step up their preparations for pre-season next week.
Pearson wants to move quickly to address the weaknesses in his side and give his players the best chance of gelling and working with his tactics ahead of the new season. The swift arrivals of Mark Sykes, Kal Naismith and Kane Wilson suggest pieces of the puzzle are already in place for the upcoming campaign and a defensive midfielder would certainly represent a successful summer recruitment so far.
Bristol Live have also previously detailed how Marlon Pack remains another option in midfield as he plots his next move after leaving Cardiff.
Kenneth Paal
Yesterday morning, a rather surprising and rogue transfer report in the Daily Mail linked Bristol City with Dutch left-back Kenneth Paal.
The article went as far as to say that the club had already offered him a contract as he prepares to leave his recently relegated side PEC Zwolle on a free transfer when his deal at expires at the end of this month.
The 25-year-old made 25 appearances for the club last season and City reportedly had competition from Barnsley for his signature.
Bristol Live can confirm that there was nothing in the reports and the club have no interest in signing Paal with Pearson prioritising other areas of the field instead. City already have Jay Dasilva and Cam Pring as their full-backs on the left side while Kal Naismith can also play in that position.
If anything it is likely to be agent talk drumming up interest in his client. On the one hand, one can argue that a move for a left-back would make sense.
Dasilva's contract expires next summer and despite being one of the club's highest earners, City are likely to offer him a new deal considering his form towards the end of last season.
With Pring, he is eyed as a more than capable left-back if Dasilva needs a rest or misses out with injury. Although it will be interesting to see what type of role he plays next season after his surprise absence from the squad at the end of last season.
Pring, 24, last started a game in the 3-2 defeat away at Bournemouth and didn't feature in any of the last six matches. It was a breakthrough campaign for the player and he was rewarded with a new contract in January keeping him at the club until 2024 with the option of an extra year.
With two new defenders arriving in Naismith and Kane Wilson with Timm Klose signing a new contract, Pearson may have thought his task of strengthening his defence is already done and dusted but Bristol Live understand one more central defender remains on City's radar.
Tennai Watson
Another name that came out of the blue on Tuesday with Football League World claiming Bristol City were one of the clubs 'monitoring his situation with MK Dons.'
Watson is one of the names being linked away from the League One side after they narrowly missed out on promotion to the Championship. The report adds how Swansea and Preston were also looking at him to help bolster their squads.
Watson, 25, came through the ranks at Reading but made just nine first team appearances while having loan spells with AFC Wimbledon and Coventry. He headed to MK Dons on a permanent deal 12 months ago, playing 25 times last season.
He was initially offered a one-year contract that was extended last month by an extra 12 months.
Watson is a natural right-back although is suitable at playing at wing-back, as he did for spells under Russell Martin last season. Considering City only announced the arrival of Wilson last Friday, surely this deal is a no-go.
City were eager to sign a wing-back to address the problems of last season and Wilson seems to be the solution to a long-term problem. With George Tanner also as back-up, it seems highly unlikely Pearson will dip his toes into the market for another right-back.
The Robins are suddenly well-stocked in that area of the field and as we saw last season, Alex Scott can also slot into that position if needs be, although ideally, he will play the majority of his matches in central midfield next season.
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