Nigel Pearson insists the decision to let Han-Noah Massengo leave Bristol City on loan in the January window was not strictly motivated by finance as the midfielder had made it abundantly clear he no longer wanted to be at the club and it was a waste of everyone’s time keeping him part of the first-team squad.
Injuries to Joe Williams, Kal Naismith and potentially Matty James - who faces a late fitness test for Saturday’s Championship clash against Blackpool due to an ankle issue - has left Pearson’s resources in central midfield desperately thin.
That’s given rise to the theory that allowing Massengo to join Auxerre on deadline day unnecessarily reduced the manager’s options ahead of the second half of the Championship campaign in which injuries and suspensions are often more pronounced.
