Nigel Pearson has indicated a desire to sign more Championship-ready players this summer, with the volume of inexperience in their squad this season reflected by their league position.
With record losses of £38.4million and a requirement to further reduce their wage bill that stood at £35.3m in the accounts published for the financial year 2021, Pearson is unlikely to have significant funds to spend again in the next transfer window.
Last year, the manager brought in four new players: two experienced figures in Andy King and Matty James and two young and inexperienced talents but with a high potential ceiling in Rob Atkinson and George Tanner. In the January window, veteran defender Timm Klose was the only addition due to Nathan Baker’s concussion.
Veteran players, in theory, are able to quickly adapt to first-team football and provide guidance and an example to the younger elements, who by nature can be inconsistent with their performances and take time to develop, not just in an ability sense but also in dealing with the mental challenges.
Owner Steve Lansdown this week reinforced CEO Richard Gould’s message last year that the Atkinson/Tanner model, coupled with the use of the club academy, is likely to be the immediate path forward for the Robins.
And although Pearson did accept the close ties between the various stages of internal club development, has hinted at a preference for players who can hit the ground running to avoid a repetition of the inconsistencies of 2021/22. City are yet to win consecutive games this season but, equally, have not gone more than three matches without a win.
The Robins lie 17th in the league, ahead of the visit of Middlesbrough. According to Transfermarkt, the 29 players they have used in the Championship this season have an average age of 25.8 - 13th overall in the league with Sheffield United the oldest at 27.8 and Barnsley the youngest with 23.1.
That is skewed, however, by a slight generation gap: of those 29, eight are 30 and over, 15 are 24 and under and just six are in the 25-29 age bracket, when players are at their physical peak and with a healthy amount of experience. Two of those are goalkeepers, while Kasey Palmer hasn't played since November and Joe Williams has been riddled with injury issues.
“Players playing without experience of this level on a regular basis is something that I am conscious of, not to make allowances for but I am aware of what the potential pitfalls of that are,” he said.
“Players like Rob Atkinson who’s had an interesting route to the Championship and this is his first year at this level and players who are very accomplished to playing at this level it’s easier to cope with the demands of it. Or less weariness on a psychological level.
“I think for the most part our players have dealt very well with what the situation is. What we have not been able to do is secure the number of points we should have done by now.
“We’ve spoken a lot about that throughout the season. It’s a part of it that I as a manager have to factor in, and it will have an influence on the recruitment moving forward.”
When asked if that means a preference for more “oven-ready” Championship players, the manager replied: “Yes, there’s got to be changes this summer. This is going to be an important window for us. It’s the next one that opens so it’s going to be important that we strengthen in the right ways.”
How possible that is remains to be seen given those record losses and the lack of financial flexibility that is likely to be available, unless one or more of the crown jewels - Antoine Semenyo, Han-Noah Massengo and Alex Scott - are to be sold off.
One area of the field where Pearson is more relaxed about than he was leading into summer 2021, when he declared he wanted someone to “put the ball in the back of the net” is in attack where, since December, Semenyo, Andi Weimann and Chris Martin have exploded into life.
The trio have 28 goals and 17 assists between them, and are playing so well it’s keeping an established Championship marksman like Nahki Wells out of the team, who has also added two from the bench.
Such has been the increase in City’s attacking potency, a perceived problem area since the 2017/18 season, the Robins are four goals short of their total from last season, with 14 games remaining.
With Weimann and Wells under contract and Semenyo in talks over a new deal, it’s a relatively settled department for now, albeit with the latter two subject to consistent transfer interest and also it’s hard to envisage Wells accepting a bench role for another season.
But with Tommy Conway and Sam Bell also coming through, Pearson speaks with confidence about his striking options.
He wouldn’t expand on it but when asked if he would like to see Martin extend his terms beyond this summer, he delivered a straightforward, “yeah, absolutely”. Earlier this month the veteran claimed discussions had yet to take place.
“Our strikers have got 30 goals between them,” Pearson added. “All the talk last summer was about signing a striker.
“We can’t afford and probably won’t be able to for a few years, to buy a striker that’s better than what we’ve got. That’s the problem so at the moment if you’re looking at where we need to make adjustments it’s certainly not upfront at the moment. Whether we can keep everyone or not, that’s a different question.”
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