Bristol City’s decision-making ahead of the summer has already been decisive with a number of key moves, both into and out of the club; the sale of Dan Bentley, the termination of Chris Martin and Timm Klose’s contracts, the loan exit of Han-Noah Massengo, plus the deadline day additions of Harry Cornick and Anis Mehmeti.
Both those forwards were earmarked for approaches at the end of the season but Antoine Semenyo’s sale to Bournemouth allowed the Robins to bring their plans forward and safeguarded their chances of landing the duo in what is always a competitive market.
The departures of Bentley, Martin and Klose ensured their futures weren’t the subject of any conjecture over the second half of the campaign and while money would have needed to be spent in terms of the latter duo, the small transfer fee received for Bentley plus the cost saving on his wage, in particular, and Massengo’s ensured that made sound financial sense.
Pearson has previously admitted that contract offers have been made to a number of individuals - we know Alex Scott is one - but most pertinent are those who become free agents at the end of June.
It's made new CEO Phil Alexander's job that little bit more straightforward because a lot of decisions have effectively been made for him and there isn't the messy situation as what transpired towards the end of the 2020/21 campaign and the Mark Ashton/Richard Gould handover. That being said, this isn't a simple case of will they/won't they sign, there is nuance and detail to each case.
We’ve taken a closer look at that group of 11, with those players who are either first-team regulars or have been around the senior set-up having been long-standing members of the academy. It's also worth noting that there are a number of players out of contract in 2024 - Rob Atkinson, Cam Pring, Andi Weimann, George Tanner, Matty James and Joe Williams being the main ones - who are also part of a similar conversation, but that year is a debate for a different day...
Jay Dasilva
Had everything gone according to plan on deadline day then Dasilva wouldn’t be on this list as the left-back was free to join Coventry City. Instead, AFC Wimbledon’s slight shifting of the goalposts around negotiations for Jack Currie meant the Robins were unable to bring in a replacement and Dasilva will now see out the remainder of his deal at Ashton Gate.
The expectation is, with the exception of if they secure promotion via the play-offs, that Coventry will move to sign the 24-year-old again when his agreement expires and it’ll be a natural parting of the ways after five years at City as a loanee and permanent player.
To some extent it feels inevitable that Dasilva will be playing for a different Championship club next season and the opportunity to work for his former Chelsea youth coach Adi Viveash - who's had a very clear impact on Kasey Palmer - is a suitable attraction.
Likewise, City could be back in the market for Currie, or another young left-back, and what was supposed to happen in January will simply occur in June.
However, while he has lost his place in the starting XI, there is no doubt that Dasilva can be, and has been many times, a quality performer at this level and the idea of him leaving the club shouldn’t be a given without some degree of opposition.
Granted, he will want to be first-choice somewhere else, which he’s not guaranteed in BS3 due to Cam Pring’s development, but there is surely a provision to offer Dasilva reduced terms to see if he may at least consider staying as part of the squad, rather than willingly allowing him to depart to a rival, albeit while making a healthy financial saving.
Owura Edwards (club hold one-year option)
The winger has made 21 appearances for Ross County in the Scottish Premier League, scoring two goals and assisting another two, although he’s missed their last three fixtures due to injury.
It’s enabled the 21-year-old to build on his temporary spells at Exeter City and Colchester United next season and simply get more senior minutes in his legs and while the assessment as to whether he’s Championship-ready can’t really be made until he returns to the High Performance Centre and trains with his teammates, it also probably answers the question.
With City holding a 12-month option on Edwards’ contract signed in 2021, alongside Ryley Towler, Tommy Conway and Sam Pearson, and with that agreement at the lower end of the pay scale - as he was only 20 at the time - the Robins have that additional time period to make a proper judgement.
His move to Scotland was done with a clear process in mind and given the appearances he’s accumulated it has, up to now, largely gone according to plan.
The key for Edwards in the summer will likely be to prove himself in the senior ranks, which will be challenging, and significant competition now in those roles, but hopefully his time in Scotland has also enhanced his confidence and self-belief that he can perform at Championship level, in the right environment.
Tomas Kalas
On the one hand it’s a very straightforward decision - the Czech Republic international should be offered a new contract because he’s a very good defender. But we don’t exist in a world of such simplicity and Kalas’ situation is probably the most complicated on this list.
Firstly, with just 54 minutes played this season and without a start since last March, as Pearson has said, he has to prove his fitness and show he’s capable - or at least is potentially so - of playing 35+ games in a campaign.
The City manager sees durability as a primary asset in footballers and having as many players as consistently available as possible benefits the whole squad in terms of cohesion and chemistry. Particularly in an area such as defence where the only way the collective can get better is if individuals improve around each other, learning their colleagues’ strengths, weaknesses and traits on the field.
So if Kalas can play a significant role over these last 18 games of the season - not including a victory over Manchester City and a glorious run to Wembley - then he puts himself in a strong position to be offered something. However, the other sizeable caveat in all this is the aspect of how much he’s now worth?
When the Czech signed he was a marquee addition, the club’s record transfer and it was seen as a genuine coup to have prised him away from Chelsea, with interest elsewhere on the continent - most notably in the Netherlands.
He turns 30 in May, and with his injuries and, let’s be honest, slight decline in reputation, he’s no longer befitting of being paid as the best player at the club. The wage ceiling in the Championship has reduced significantly, as it has also at City, and any offer will need him to take a very substantial pay cut.
Whether or not he’ll accept such terms is a debate far beyond these pages because a lot will develop but will be largely dependent on what else is on the table and, either way, Kalas is playing for a contract somewhere over these next three months.
Andy King
The great Andy King centre-back experiment seems to be over, aided by Kalas’ return and a move to a back four which creates a slightly deeper hierarchy than when it was a three.
Interestingly, when asked last week about City’s inability to sign a centre-back in January - having failed to bring in Crystal Palace’s Jake O’Brien on loan - Nigel Pearson didn’t namecheck King as an option when discussing players in the position, choosing instead to offer George Tanner and Cam Pring as alternatives should the situation arise.
With Han-Noah Massengo having departed for France it does give King greater chance of game time in midfield, although Omar Taylor-Clarke has also been promoted from the academy, so Pearson may feel it more prudent - if needed - to play the 19-year-old for the long-term rather than the veteran.
But we all know that King’s strengths and value to the squad is increasingly off the field and having spent this season as a player first, and a mentor and coach second, should City wish to offer him new terms, you’d imagine that balance of that dynamic to tilt the other way.
Theoretically, he could still be part of the squad but with the exception of possibly Alex Scott and almost definitely Massengo, City’s centre midfielders will remain the same for next season plus Dylan Kadji will come into contention following his loan at Swindon Town.
In short, opportunities for him to play will reduce - although his performance towards the end of the FA Cup win at Swansea shows he could still have some role to play, however minimal - and the club need to weigh up the concept of value in terms of what he will bring to the coaching staff, with Curtis Fleming and Jason Euell also in situ, rather than his presence on the pitch.
What stands him in good stead, you’d think, is that provided City continue the process of promoting talent from within the academy, individuals like King - and he’s regularly spoken about in this context - are vital to have in the first-team squad to aid their adaptation.
It’s no coincidence how at-ease many feel when they make the step up into the senior set-up, as what could be an intimidating and aggressively competitive atmosphere for the wrong reasons, is formed into a open and progressive one by people like King.
Han-Noah Massengo
It wasn’t meant to end this way. Without a City appearance since early October, Massengo is now playing out his final season for the club at Auxerre where the hope will be he’ll impress enough to earn a permanent contract either there or somewhere else in France.
Two years ago when Pearson arrived at Ashton Gate, Massengo was one of the few genuine saleable assets in the squad but he’ll now depart with the Robins receiving minimal compensation - having offered him a new contract more than a year ago - for their investment, not just in terms of transfer fee and wages but also time.
He’s reached triple figures for appearances in league and cup but, ultimately, Massengo will be remembered as a missed opportunity, whether that be by the club in getting consistency from him and/or an inability to attract a good transfer fee or from the perspective of the player himself.
It’s an unfortunate and sad set of circumstances but so rich and prolific is that academy that very quickly the club are moving on. It’s just a shame it never quite happened for the Frenchman and it would have been hard to forecast this ending when he was making his first few steps in a Robins shirt back in 2019.
It’s, of course, not really a contract decision per se, because that contract decision was made a long time ago and clearly Massengo has no indication of extending his stay in the West Country.
Taylor Moore (option)
By all accounts he’s having a very good season under Steve Cotterill at Shrewsbury Town, having started 25 of a possible 29 games in League One and transitioned nicely into a multi-position role which has seen him play defensive midfield and right wing-back.
The expectation is that the Shrews would dearly like to keep him and unless there’s a considerable change in approach at City it’s hard to see how they’ll stand in his way.
They would clearly be in pole position to sign him, and Cotterill can be a persuasive man, but clearly his consistency, ability and professionalism means that there’ll be other offers for his services elsewhere in the division, potentially even higher.
The interesting aspect of Moore’s situation at City is that 12-month option which the club may choose to exercise to put them in a position where they can extract some kind of transfer fee, which should be forthcoming if interest is to materialise in the summer.
However, that also comes at a risk. Because Moore’s contract was signed in XX when City were still offering what would be considered now high-ish terms and while he wouldn’t feature among the squad’s top earners, it’s certainly enough whereby the club won’t want to be paying him if he’s not contributing regularly for the first-team.
Therefore if City are to activate it, they’ll need to have some degree of assurance that they can get a fee for him because the concept of Moore spending another 12 months under contract, and then likely on loan somewhere else, doesn’t make for smart business.
James Morton (option)
A regrettable tale of injuries and then missed transfer opportunities, the midfielder remains under contract at Ashton Gate and is currently on loan at Bath City in the National League South.
Once among the brightest talents in the academy, for whatever reason, it’s just not happened for him at his hometown club and Pearson has previously admitted that there’s no first-team future for Morton but such is his talent he needs to find a club elsewhere.
Now 23, he couldn’t even be included in City’s official Under-21 squad list as presented to the EFL - other loanees were - and clearly that 12-month option won’t be exercised and Morton will be released from his torment (if you can call it that) and find a new club.
Max O'Leary (option)
One of the success stories of this season, having been perilously close to leaving the club last summer - with Stefan Bajic signed to assume No2 duties - he’s fought his way to become the club’s No1, with Dan Bentley sold to Wolves and Bajic back on loan in France with Valenciennes.
It’s a considerable comeback story and testament to O’Leary’s attitude and application that despite being on the fringes and initially out of his manager’s thoughts, he’s now a fixture on the teamsheet and, probably for the first time in his City career, without many questions about his suitability.
What City do in the goalkeeping department this summer is a debate for another day but the 26-year-old is undoubtedly in the conversation moving forward and given his age should only improve as his mentality sharpens through more football.
In short, there isn’t much discussion around him long-term but that also makes his contract situation intriguing. With the extra year in his agreement, City have the option of an extra season with him between the posts to assess their options and perhaps then make a proper decision in 12 months.
But, equally, should there be a sense of reward for his performances this term - assuming they continue - plus bring a sense of consistency in the department. Irrespective of whether the long-term vision is him, Bajic or someone else as the club’s first-choice, O’Leary has, at the very least, shown himself to be a solid member of the squad, a good team man and professional and, increasingly, a strong contributor on a matchday.
Josh Owers
It’s somewhat of a mystery as to what has happened to Owers and of the Under-21 talent that has made the breakthrough over the last 12 months he’s been the one who’s been slightly left behind.
Eternally impressive for the Young Robins last season, to the point he looked the most first-team ready of anyone in the set-up, despite travelling with the senior squad throughout the second half of 2021/22, he wasn’t able to get on the field.
Since then he seems to have been overtaken by Kadji and Taylor-Clarke in centre midfield and has been on loan at Bath City and Gloucester City with no signs that he’s under first-team consideration.
He is still only 20 and lots can change and it would be somewhat of a surprise if Owers isn’t retained beyond this summer but you increasingly get the sense that, in a similar way to Ryley Towler, Pearson has made his mind up on the midfielder. The answer will be revealed later in the year when the retained list is published.
Harvey Wiles-Richards
Now third-choice again due to Bentley and Bajic’s January exits, Wiles-Richards has held that position for the last 18 months without ever really seeming in line for a first-team appearance.
There’s absolutely no reason to panic or make any kind of rash decisions about a goalkeeper who’s only 20 but any pathway to the senior side will be blocked after the summer by, presumably, O’Leary, a returning Bajic and possibly another goalkeeper; again, depending on what the transfer priorities are for that window.
Wiles-Richards has the gloves for the Under-21s and perhaps that, or another season on loan is what’s best for his development.
Opinions internally may differ and with Will Buse, Josey Casa-Grande and Joe Duncan also in the mix, City have some talented young ‘keepers in the ranks, plus there will be more invariably progressing from the Under-16s over the next 12 months.
The ultimate question will be - do they consider Wiles-Richards a prospect worth investing in beyond what they already know about the 20-year-old? Given his age relative to his position there seems a lot of uncertainty to find a definitive no to that question.
Zak Vyner (option)
Alex Scott is doing his utmost to wrestle it away from him but if the Player of the Year poll was held this week, Vyner would be the most likely recipient in what has been a deeply impressive body of work put together this season.
In transfer terms he had one foot out of the club last summer but he managed to battle his way into first-team contention and while there’s never been any doubt about his ability, those lapses of concentration and unforced errors have been ironed out to the point that the 24-year-old is looking every inch a Championship-level defender.
Added to that has been the increased leadership role he has taken in the defence, displaying another facet to his abilities; vocal and organisational, it’s created a nice balance between him and current partner Rob Atkinson.
Kalas’ return from injury does present a higher level of competition for him but there is a greater sense of assurance with him in the defence and if he were not to win the individual award, if you were applying a NBA-style Most Improved award, you may as well give it to him now.
The fact his option hasn’t been exercised is a clear indication that he’s been offered longer terms than just an additional 12 months. The question for the defender is how lucrative that offer is.
Because City could have activated that extra year at any time this season but contracts are as much a financial decision as they are a sporting one and while Vyner’s performances have evidently been of a level where he deserves a new deal, they’ve also been to an extent where he probably deserves a greater salary.
It seems a straightforward discussion, given his association with the club, Pearson’s admiration for the centre-back and his growing bond with the fanbase but has summer approaches, unless a deal has been struck, if these performances continue, City won’t be the only ones shoving a piece of paper in front of him.
In that event, though, they at least have the 12-month option which gives them the security of retaining him one way or the other. The preferable situation, though, would surely be for 3-4 years, rather than just one.
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