Nigel Pearson has said he will have to be creative in the transfer market this summer because he "can't see us spending any money."
The Bristol City manager emphasised the need to make significant changes to his squad at the end of the season and address areas of the team that need close attention.
Pearson is likely to have a monumental task on his hands as he plots to improve the side, both with the current state of the transfer market following the knock-on effects of Covid, City's financial position, the uncertainty of players who are reaching the end of their contracts and the Premier League interest in the likes of Antoine Semenyo and Alex Scott.
City published record losses of £38.4million for the financial year ending 2021 and will need to further reduce their wage bill, and likely raise revenue in the transfer market to meet the EFL's Profit & Sustainability regulations for next season and avoid a potential points deduction.
Speaking ahead of Saturday's game with Peterborough, he said: "I can't tell you what the market is going to be like but I have intentions to strengthen the squad and as it stands at the moment, I can't see us spending any money."
When asked whether he'll have to sell players to spend any cash, he said: "Yeah. Or trade them. We'll still try and keep our best players, but what I'm not going to do is just change players for the sake of it.
"When we bring players in they have to be better than what we've got. We're aware that we need to make changes again this summer and there are areas of the team which will need attention, but that isn't for now.
"Although work is being down behind the scenes, the emphasis at the moment is very much on the remaining games to make sure we firstly get enough points to make sure we are going to play in this division and then also for players to cement their places within the squad. That's the priority at the moment."
It'll be the second summer in succession where Pearson will have to be on the lookout for bargains. Less than £2m was spent in total on two players in Rob Atkinson from Oxford and a reported nominal £200,000 fee for George Tanner from Carlilse who was eyed as one for the future at right-back.
Matty James, Andy King and Danny Simpson all arrived on free transfers and were later joined in January by Timm Klose who was a free agent when he came to Ashton Gate.
It will be no exception this time around, with free transfers likely to be the most realistic way for Pearson to bring players in. He will be able to generate funds by allowing players to leave with Nahki Wells, Tomas Kalas and Han-Noah Massengo heading into the final years of their contracts.
The likes of Kasey Palmer are also expected to be available while there are lingering question marks over the futures of keeper Dan Bentley and Jay Dasilva with their deals expiring in 2023. Pearson has already admitted signing centre-backs, a right wing-back and a defensive midfielder remain important moving forward.
Pearson is no stranger to working within a stringent budget in the transfer market throughout his 24-year managerial career and although the task at hand over the summer will be undoubtedly difficult, he has plenty of experience in getting deals done with his hands tied.
Quizzed on whether this summer will be one of the toughest jobs of his managerial career, Pearson said: "No, no. I've managed teams with a transfer embargo, I've managed teams who are totally skint, so no.
"I've nearly really spent a great deal you know on players. The most I've ever spent which was in the Premier League (with Leicester) was about £8m which is not a lot of money.
"It doesn't matter, it's all about cutting your cloth accordingly, we are in a situation that we're in as a football club and if we need to be creative, we'll be creative."
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