Nigel Pearson says his search for Antoine Semenyo's replacement could go down to transfer deadline day.
The Bristol City manager is working on trying to bring in a new forward after Semenyo joined Premier League Bournemouth in an initial £9million deal on Friday evening. His move leaves the club light of options in attack, particularly with Tommy Conway potentially sidelined until March with a hamstring injury.
During his press conference on Thursday, Pearson confirmed the "next couple of days" would prove "very important" in reaching an agreement with the player. He was reluctant to name the player out of respect for the other club.
Bristol Live understands Luton Town's Harry Cornick is very much an option having entered the final six months of his contract. The 27-year-old, who can play anywhere across the front three, started and played 60 minutes of their FA Cup draw with Grimsby on Saturday.
When asked if there had been any developments in a deal, he told the written press following the victory over West Brom: "No, not as we stand at the minute. I had an update this morning and it was no change, so we’ll see what the next two or three days bring.”
With the transfer window closing at 11pm on Tuesday, it appears as though any potential deal could go down to the wire. There is, of course, the possibility that City could fail to bring in a new frontman before the deadline which would leave the manager with limited options going forward.
That was evident with the substitute bench yesterday with forward Marlee Francois making his debut as a late substitute. City also had Olly Thomas in the squad for the first time after returning from a loan spell with Bath City.
When asked whether he would be happy with his current squad if a deal collapses, he added: “I don’t ever use the word, ‘I’m unhappy to do, or I’m happy to do.’
"What we do will is this. We will either add in the way that we can, or we want to. Or we will work with what we have until we can add in the right way.
"Since I’ve been at the club, I think 23 or 24 players have left, that’s a lot of players in less than two years so it’s important we don’t add players that we then want to release further down the line.
"It’s about balance, we know that we are one or two players short of having decent cover. We know that but having said that I don’t want to bring players in for the sake of it so it always tests everybody’s resolve in that regard.”
If City do manage to sign Cornick, he would be available for a nominal fee with Luton facing the prospect of losing him for nothing at the end of the season. He is not the only option being explored, however, as Pearson indicated during Thursday's press conference the club were working to bring in a new attacking player.
Cornick scored 12 goals in 39 appearances for Luton last season but has not been a consistent starter in 2022/23, due to injury, and with Rob Edwards replacing Nathan Jones in November, the Hatters are understood to be open to a sale.
Speaking after their 2-2 draw with Grimsby Town in the FA Cup, head coach Rob Edwards conceded there had been interest in the forward without naming the club, or clubs, concerned.
"There is interest there, but what I will say on it is Corns is someone I admire, I love working with him," Edwards told Luton Today. "“He’s a good footballer, we're going to have interest in some of our players.
“Corns is fully committed, he loves being here, he is an absolute professional and that’s why I played him today because I believed he was in a really good headspace
“I know that we’ll be in a really good position come the end of the window. I haven't got a crystal ball so I couldn't say who's going to be here or not, but I know we will be in a good position.”
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