Nigel Pearson believes Bristol City are in a position of strength when it comes to the futures of top young talents including Alex Scott amid reports linking Premier League giants Liverpool with the teenager.
The 19-year-old has been among City's best players for the past two seasons despite his inexperience, attracting interest from several Premier League clubs, with Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool the latest reported admirers of the Guernsey-born midfielder.
According to the Daily Mail, the Reds have entered the race to sign Scott ahead of West Ham United and Wolverhampton Wanderers, who held a significant interest in January but were put off by a £25million asking price. Tottenham Hotspur have also shown an interest in the player.
Scott is one of many academy products to break through at Ashton Gate in recent times, albeit he joined the club as a 16-year-old. Local lads Sam Bell and Tommy Conway have established themselves as first-team regulars and several other graduates from the club's pathway have played their part.
As long as performance levels remain high, interest in City's young talents is inevitable, particularly in the case of England under-20 international Scott who has shown he is capable of playing in the top flight, but manager Pearson believes the club is in a position of strength.
Under his tenure, the club has reduced the wage bill significantly and placed increased faith in the academy. As a result, he believes there is less financial pressure to balance the books than there has been in recent seasons, particularly after striking a £10.5m deal for the sale of Antoine Semenyo to Bournemouth in January.
"If we lose one of our talents in the summer, that will be unfortunate in one sense but it will quicken the process in terms of developing the squad but we still want to keep our best players so I'm still open-minded about how we approach it but I'm very clear on what we need," Pearson said.
"The way we've gone about it before meant we've had to sell them. We don't have to anymore. In the past, because we've spent a lot it meant we had to sell them. We're not spending a lot now so we don't necessarily have to sell and that's why I'll be very careful about what I spend because I don't want to be in a position where we have to balance the books by selling. I don't want that.
"Alex Scott for instance as a point of conversation, every player has a price. It will have to be one hell of a bid for him to go. I can assure you that Steve (Lansdown) - he doesn't want to sell players for the sake of it. It's not about that.
"I think Alex Scott's had two really good Championship seasons for us which is remarkable to say he's only 19 and he's been one of our most successful and consistent players but for somebody to get him away from here is going to cost a fortune so we're not going to undersell ourselves at all. And that's why it's important to get young players on long contracts.
"If we lose our players, we'll only lose them if it means we can facilitate the growth of our squad. Managers lose their jobs because you don't win enough games and you aren't successful enough. If you want to be a success and want to be a team that is challenging for promotion then you have to have a good enough squad. You can't have your cake and eat it so that's life."
Liverpool's interest in Scott comes at a time when the Merseyside club have ruled themselves out of the race to sign England superstar Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund to focus on other, more affordable midfield targets.
Scott has made 37 Championship appearances this season, scoring once and racking up five assists from midfield. He has missed the past three games after picking up a minor knee ligament injury on international duty last month.
It is the nature of the EFL pyramid that second-tier teams are to a certain extent "selling clubs" when the Premier League comes calling, with Adam Webster, Lloyd Kelly, Josh Brownhill and Bobby DeCordova-Reid among the Robins' big-money sales to top-flight sides in recent years.
Despite City's strengthened position when it comes to being in control of their players' futures, the food chain will always be there, and Pearson says it is essential that the club remains an attractive place for their younger players to realise their potential before possibly stepping up to a higher level.
"It is good to have so many youngsters that people are looking at but why go somewhere and not play?" he said. "Might as well be with us and that's why it's important we are successful because if we are successful, we can keep our best players."
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