Nigel Pearson has confirmed he will look to gazump Birmingham City for a deal to sign attacking midfielder Reda Khadra but conceded a player would need to leave Bristol City first.
The Robins manager attempted to sign the 21-year-old on loan from Brighton and Hove Albion in the summer but he opted to join Championship rivals Sheffield United. Khadra has struggled to find consistency in Paul Heckingbottom's side and has been left out of the last two matchday squads.
As reported by the Sheffield Star, Heckingbottom has confirmed Khadra is "expected to leave" after the player confirmed he would like to end his loan spell this month. He scored once in four league starts and 11 substitute appearances.
Pearson remains a big admirer and spoke of his previous attempt to sign him after the Blades beat City at Ashton Gate at the beginning of November. With Khadra returning to parent club Brighton & Hove Albion, The Mail report Birmingham City are hoping to bring him to St Andrew's temporarily until the end of the season.
However, Pearson is also in the chase for his signature, after signalling his intentions to sign a maverick following the draw at Coventry on New Year's Day, preferably on a permanent deal.
Speaking ahead of Sunday's FA Cup visit of Swansea, Pearson confirmed they are exploring the option but says they may have their hands tied until they can raise funds by a player leaving. He said: "He’s a player we have talked about in the summer because we felt he would be good for us.
"His loan deal hasn’t really worked out for him. He would be a player that I think would be good for us and we as a club would be good for him. It’s something we are exploring again but as it stands at the minute, we can’t do any business until people leave.
"Whether it’s a sale or players leaving to free up potential wages. These are the nuances of getting the balance right, it’s not as straightforward as going out and adding to the squad or selling players.
"We don’t buy or sell any players without giving it considerable thought and doing what we believe to be the right reasons. This is a window where if you’re not careful you can be pushed into a corner, it’s important we make good decisions."
Pearson has previously stated that he believes the City dressing room could do with a 'maverick' and a player that keeps him on his toes. Despite winning just three games in their last 20 in all competitions, two draws on the road and committed performances at Coventry and Millwall have given reason for some optimism.
City missed numerous opportunities during those games and Pearson believes bringing in a maverick who can produce a moment of quality can be the difference between one point and three.
"It depends in which area of the field you are looking for," he added. "I don’t know what you think a maverick is, they can be a defender or a goalkeeper. They don’t have to be an attacking player.
"We feel at the moment we’ve not really been in a position where we have created lots of goal-scoring chances. We need players like ‘mavericks’ who will still have to work hard for the team.
"It’s not having a luxury player. We’ve had luxury players in the past and we have had to move them on because we can’t function with them. It’s about getting players who are match-winners at either end and whether that be good defenders or players who can win a game out of nothing."
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