Wolves have expressed an interest in signing Dan Bentley this month as their No2 should back-up stopper Matija Sarkic leave the club, Bristol Live understands.
The Premier League side have yet to make an official bid for Bristol City's club captain but are aware the Robins would sanction his departure if the offer is right and they, in turn, can sign a replacement. Despite Stefan Bajic join Ligue 2 Valenciennes on loan last week, Nigel Pearson confirmed he will not "rule anything in or out" in regard to Bentley's future.
Bentley's departure from Ashton Gate looks increasingly inevitable whether that's this month or in the summer as he has entered the last six months of his deal and has lost his place in the side to Max O'Leary.
Stoke City are one of the clubs to make an enquiry into Bentley's availability but they also have other targets in mind. Reports claim they are looking towards Birmingham City's Neil Etheridge having been knocked back in a loan approach for Leicester City's Daniel Iversen.
That could pave way for Wolves to make their move and represent the opportunity for Bentley to provide competition for Jose Sa and offer the potential to play top-flight football. The Express and Star suggest 25-year-old Sarkic is free to leave this month with manager Julen Lopetegui looking for more experience in goal.
Bentley, 29, is among the top earners at City and there is a need to reduce the wage bill. When quizzed on his immediate future last week, Pearson said: "There has been speculation about Dan’s position. How do we sit with that? We have two very good keepers at the football club.
"Max is playing well at the moment and we’ll see how things develop. I’m not ruling anything in or out. Dan’s contract is up at the end of the season, we’ll see if anything develops.
“We can never leave ourselves short, we always need to have the right cover. For argument’s sake if something happens with Dan in the last week-and-a-half, we’d need somebody else to come in, we’re never gonna leave ourselves short.
"It’s important to have conversations with players about where they sit. Their agents can talk to the club, they can do whatever they want. I’ll talk to the players.”
Earlier in the month, Pearson was also asked if Bentley could move on should the club receive a serious offer. He responded: "It all depends on what you call a serious offer. You would be very, very surprised by what clubs deem to be reasonable offers. We will only move players if it’s in our interest to do it or if we feel it’s a fair situation.”
Towards the end of last season, Bentley suggested his representatives had begun talks over a potential contract extension but that deal has failed to materialise. In December, Pearson said around seven players had been offered new contracts on reduced wages while three, whose deals were expiring in the summer, have been told they are free to leave.
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