Bristol City’s deadline day was perhaps best summed up by Brian Tinnion’s tweet just over half an hour before the January window closed.
Posting two celebration images featuring Antoine Semenyo, Alex Scott and Han-Noah Massengo with the message, “scenes when the window closes”, the message was obvious - retaining their three most prized assets was worth shouting about.
In truth it was only Semenyo who came anywhere close to leaving with Nottingham Forest making a late, and rather ambitious, bid to sign him. Their offer fell well short of City’s valuation with the feeling that what the 22-year-old is worth now after four goals and six assists in 15 appearances, could be significantly enhanced over 17 more games of the campaign.
If Semenyo was to depart the only plausible destination was a Premier League side and while he has plenty of admirers in the top-flight, particularly at Watford and Crystal Palace plus Fulham and Bournemouth should they gain promotion, no actual offers were forthcoming from a club of that level.
There is no danger of Semenyo causing any trouble over being denied a move, the forward is very much happy in Bristol and was said to be largely ambivalent over any interest on deadline day with his representatives of a similar mindset.
City have ultimately provided a pathway into the professional game from SGS College and have nurtured him particularly well, progressing him through the levels on loan before circumstances have allowed Nigel Pearson to field him in his preferred central position.
The Forest bid and the various enquiries do act as a trial run for the summer, however, and enable the Robins to perhaps form a better understanding of what his true value could be given the expected volume of interest should he continue his upward trend.
Semenyo is under contract until 2023, with the option of a further year, but if his ratio of a goal or assist every 91 minutes continues, City will find it very hard to retain his services beyond the summer. That, however, is a debate for a different day and instead we should all be looking forward to seeing just how he develops over the next four months.
The same can be true of the club’s new central midfield duo Scott and Massengo with the secret very much out regarding the former, as the scouting contingent following around the country swells, and the latter subject of transfer talk earlier in the window only for nothing of substance to materialise.
There was little chance of Massengo moving in this window and what that allows is City more time to negotiate with the Frenchman over his new contract proposal, albeit with the deadline of the summer fast approaching.
There is no protection of an extra 12 months, as is codified in Semenyo’s agreement, and the simple fact is that unless a deal can’t be struck with the 20-year-old, he will have to be sold in the summer or we’re into Famara Diedhiou-style territory of an asset then walking for nothing.
For that success of retaining their prized trio, who have become key first-team players under Pearson, City were unable to move on the more peripheral members of the squad, most notably Nahki Wells and Kasey Palmer.
Cardiff made two loan bids for Wells, one on Sunday night and another on Monday afternoon, and although the second was willing to take on a significant proportion of his wages for the remainder of the campaign, it was still deemed unsatisfactory.
So too the approach for Palmer, as the playmaker looked the most likely to leave at the beginning of the window before his options gradually narrowed.
The issue for City in trying to move the pair on is, pure and simple, the salaries agreed when they were signed in the 2019/20 season; wages that now, in a Covid-influenced market look exorbitant and uncomfortable for clubs to match.
City’s issue hasn’t changed - two of their highest earning rank 17th and 23rd in the squad for minutes this season and with Chris Martin, Semenyo and Andi Weimann ahead of Wells, and Scott, Weimann and possibly even Ayman Benarous ahead of Palmer, how does that alter dramatically over the final 17 matches of the season?
City have retained them as options but now they must swallow at least another five months of salary with the potential for little value on the pitch.
As a side point, for all those supporters understandably demanding the Lansdowns through the house at Semenyo, Scott and Massengo in extending their contracts, with just six players set to become free agents this summer, keeping Wells and Palmer's wages on board doesn't exactly give them a great deal of financial flexibility in offering fresh terms.
Pearson’s maxim of not wanting to unnecessarily strengthen a rival rang true and in-part drove their negotiation position - if either was to leave to a fellow club in the division it would have to be on a permanent, otherwise it wouldn’t make financial sense. But no bids were forthcoming beyond loans and Adam Nagy-style free arrangements in the case of Palmer - neither was palatable to the board, in a financial, sporting or PR sense.
Having lost Diedhiou, Jamie Paterson and then Nagy for absolutely nothing - all players technically worth millions in normal circumstances - a fourth or fifth gift to the market would have seemed far too charitable, and perhaps even careless.
The conundrum for Pearson is now to either integrate them back into the first-team picture - Wells has played 14 Championship minutes this month, Palmer zero - to try and build-up some value ahead of a summer sale and, hopefully, provide benefit to the team, or continue to leave them on the outskirts of the squad due to the talent he has helped progress ahead of them, but then risk exactly the same situation developing in the next window. It’s hard to know what the right answer is.
Perhaps Jay Dasilva has given a pathway for such redemption. Having been seemingly cast to the bench ahead of a January move, the 23-year-old has proved his worth this month by filling in as a right-wing back to such an extent that City rejected a late approach from Birmingham City for the defender.
Their inability to shed Wells or Palmer's salaries from the balance sheet prevented Pearson making any additions, but with Timm Klose having arrived as a free agent last week and Robbie Cundy making his long-awaited debut, a defence that was just one more injury away from disintegration has been reasonably reinforced over the course of a weekend.
There are potential weak points - at right-back until George Tanner returns to fitness and centre midfield depending on how long Andy King and Matty James are out for - and those nagging issues could be why Pearson was so reticent at letting Wells or Palmer go; there still needs to be competition for places and a sense of achievement at making the starting XI, even in such a tight squad.
But with Semenyo, Massengo and Scott in situ, City have at least retained something for the remainder of the campaign. Marooned in mid to lower mid-table, with that talent plus the feeling the team is progressing around them, there is a sense of excitement and hope. And isn't that what transfer windows are supposed to be about?
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