Nigel Pearson has revealed he would like three more arrivals at Bristol City this summer, potentially more if key players were to be sold, and appears to have softened his stance on the prospect of bringing in loan signings.
The Robins have embarked on their pre-season trip to the Alps with new faces Kane Wilson, Kal Naismith and Mark Sykes in town having completed some reassuringly early business in the window to ensure they have the maximum amount of time to integrate with the squad, club and in the city of Bristol.
But they aren’t closed for business and while there is no figure set in stone, given the uncertainty and unpredictability of the transfer market over the next nine weeks, City manager Pearson would like three players.
With reports in France stating that goalkeeper Stefan Bajic has agreed a three-year contract at Ashton Gate, that presents the likelihood that Pearson would like at least one centre-back - to replace Robbie Cundy on the depth chart - and a defensive midfielder, given his admission towards the end of last season that City don’t possess a specialist in the position.
That could change, of course, depending on what happens with Alex Scott or Han-Noah Massengo; Pearson would ideally like to keep hold of both talented midfielders but the club remains realistic that significant bids could be forthcoming for Scott, while Massengo’s contract situation is yet to be resolved which leans towards the prospect of a sale.
Should either depart, that would require a replacement to be signed plus also equip the manager with extra resource in the market as Wilson, Naismith and Sykes were all free transfers.
Nahki Wells’ future also remains uncertain with Preston North End among the Championship clubs monitoring the Bermudian’s availability, with Ryan Lowe’s side having made an early enquiry as to what it would take to sign the 32-year-old who is into the final year of his contract.
However, moving Wells on could be dependent on the severity of Antoine Semenyo’s injury. Should the 22-year-old be back in September, Pearson may be able to lose Wells without signing a replacement. If Semenyo takes longer, then Wells’ exit would almost certainly follow with the arrival of a new striker.
"To a certain extent it will be about that (outgoings) but maybe two or three players," Pearson said, when asked if he had a specific number in his head as to how many more players he'd like to sign. "The financial aspects of it as well, may dictate it. I don't want to paint a picture that we're in financial difficulties. What we have to do is manage our situation with a realistic and sensible touch, and that's the bottom line.
"I'll be the blocker, more often than not, than the hierarchy, in terms of whether we do deals or not. Because if deals become too expensive, I'll just say no, we're not doing it.
"Because I don't want to go down that route again, I would like us to have an element of equality amongst the squad but, of course, I never begrudge people earning good money, but we have to have a slightly different approach to what we've had in the past, for lots of different reasons."
That concept of "equality" is something Pearson first mentioned during his interview with BBC Radio Bristol in May. It indicates a willingness to either renegotiate the contracts of high earners or move them on, to reduce the differential in terms of earnings across the squad.
Kasey Palmer's switch to Coventry City could be viewed as evidence of that, and certainly represents a significant saving, but Pearson insists that departures are fundamentally driven by sporting reasons and not to make financial savings. In Palmer's case, he made just one Championship start last season.
When discussing the concept of pre-pandemic contracts signed in 2019 that are an increasing burden for the club as they navigate the EFL's Profit & Sustainability regulations, Pearson was keen to emphasise, "that's not their fault".
"It won't be my priority. That's a consideration but it's not a priority. I've not been told by the club I have to move players on. If there are departures it will be a football decision as much as anything," Pearson added. "Clearly we have to get to a point where we're not out-spending what we're bringing in, then that means you have to sell players to break even.
"What we would like to do here is develop a squad; so, keep your best players. I think we have got a squad with value now. We have players who other people would quite like. But their value to us is what they do out there, on that green rectangle, not on how much somebody is going to pay.
"That's a shift in where we are. We want to retain our best players, we want to develop the team so that when we are successful and get into the Premier League, we're not changing it all again. We have got players who have made the transition. We have a younger squad, a fitter squad, generally speaking, and that's the way to build a team."
Last season, Pearson was steadfast in his view that loan signings weren’t an option due to the concept of paying a substantial fee for a player with no financial return and who minutes would likely have to be guaranteed to, given the usual arrangements with Premier League clubs.
City were the only Championship clubs not to have made a loan signing across 2020/21 which left some supporters perplexed given the success of individuals such as Morgan Gibbs-White (Sheffield United), James Garner and Djed Spence (Nottingham Forest), Levi Colwill (Huddersfield Town), Daniel Ballard (Millwall) and Cameron Archer (Preston), who were on hire.
Pearson’s stance in this window has altered with the manager admitting conversations have been had with several Premier League clubs about the possibility of loaning players. The amendment to his own unwritten constitution is interesting in itself because the 58-year-old has pointed to a “different culture” within the squad, that enables such moves to be made with a higher chance of success.
"My stance on loans is, if you look at my history at different clubs, I've utilised it a lot," he added. "I don't honestly think the culture within the club was strong enough to have too many loan players. Because to have them come in and be successful you need quite a clear identity already.
"I'm not ruling out loans at all, far from it. We've been in contact with a number of clubs in terms of availability to take players on loan. But, again, it's not just about filling spaces, it's about getting the right players. It's something that we've explored, and we will continue to."
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