Nigel Pearson has dampened expectations of Bristol City signing a new striker this summer following recent reports linking the Robins with Lincoln City's Ben House and Hibernian's Kevin Nisbet.
The Real EFL linked House with the Robins last week, in which Bristol Live understands there is no interest, while The Sun suggested City were one of a few Championship sides scouting 26-year-old Nisbet, who has scored 10 goals in 15 Scottish top flight appearances under former Robins manager Lee Johnson.
Signing new central defenders remains the key priority this summer while City also want to bring in a new left-back with Jay Dasilva expected to depart on a free transfer despite being offered a new contract. At least one central midfielder will also be on the shortlist with Aberdeen's Ross McCrorie a key target.
City are well-stocked with forward options, particularly following the arrivals of Harry Cornick and Anis Mehmeti in the January transfer window. In Monday's victory over Queens Park Rangers, City had seven forward options in the matchday squad with Pearson enjoying a blend of youth, experience, and versatility in attacking positions, while 18-year-old Seb Palmer-Houlden has been increasingly introduced into the senior set-up.
There could be an argument to sign a No10 this summer if Alex Scott heads to the Premier League but in terms of bringing in a new striker, Pearson dismissed the possibility because of their value, suggesting they'll continue to produce them from the academy instead in similar fashion to Sam Bell and Tommy Conway.
"Forwards are very expensive," Pearson said. "Forwards are commodities that don't come up very often. Are we in a position to buy better than we've got? I don't think we are. For us to buy players who are better than the ones that we currently have would be very, very expensive. So we'll produce them instead.
"I think we have really, really great competition. Harry didn't even get on (against QPR). He was going to get on but we had to make a change of decision in terms of substitutes because Matty James has been away all week because his wife had their third child. He looked a bit shot by the end of it."
Under-21s striker Palmer-Houlden could be the latest striker to break through into the first-team picture having enjoyed a successful campaign at youth level, while Australian Under-23 international winger Marlee Francois made two appearances in the FA Cup.
City are eager to get business concluded swiftly following the end of the season with a strong interest in central defender Jake O'Brien, McCrorie, ex-City favourite Joe Bryan, and AFC Wimbledon's Jack Currie.
When asked whether he believes any business can be concluded within the next couple of weeks, Pearson told BBC Radio Bristol: "Yes, I do. The work that goes on behind the scenes is very, very important and we can't always be overly transparent with it but it's not a case of the season finishes, and all of a sudden we start it.
"We try and synchronize it so there is an appropriate time to do these things. We'll try to do it as soon as we can and as soon as the position allows us to."
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