Nigel Pearson admits the club aren’t shying away from the fact that Han-Noah Massengo is pursuing opportunities beyond Bristol City and indicated the midfielder’s contract situation has pushed him further down the pecking order at Ashton Gate.
Massengo has been dropped from the last two City squads against Millwall and West Brom, and lined up for the Under-21s against QPR on Tuesday lunchtime while the senior squad were preparing for their Championship game at the Hawthorns a few hours later.
With the 21-year-old’s contract expiring at the end of this season and a new offer remaining unsigned for at least 10 months, the increasing expectation is that Massengo will leave in 2023 and, speaking on Thursday, Pearson has conceded the likelihood of that happening for the first time.
The manager, though, won’t let it impact how he uses the France youth international over the remaining 30 games of the Championship season, but does concede that other players could be ahead of him in the central midfield hierarchy having signed longer-term contracts.
Pearson has altered his central midfield duo over the course of the season between Massengo, Alex Scott, Matty James, Joe Williams and Andy King while Ayman Benarous is set to return from injury at the end of the year and Dylan Kadji is an increasingly regular presence in the matchday group, having made four Championship squads this season.
“I spoke to him this morning, we had a good conversation this morning,” Pearson said. “And my view on him never changes - I like him, and all he said to me this morning is that he’ll be ready whenever he’s needed, which is great.
“But, also, we both recognise that his intention is to maybe look elsewhere. There’s no point hiding from that and what I have to do in the meantime is make sure the players who are here for the longer haul get a fair deal as well.
“There’s nothing to hide with it. He is one of our players still and while he’s here he’ll get mine and our full support, but then there has to be a realism of how we look at the bigger picture. And we’ve got players here who have committed their futures to the club, so I think it’s fair to say those players are ahead of Han-Noah.
“But I would not think twice about including him, selecting him, if we need him and if a game suits. There’s no secret.”
Despite reported interest at the start of the summer from Ligue 1 sides Lyon and Nice, City received no bids for Massengo in what was the last transfer window in which they could sell the midfielder. He can sign a pre-contract agreement with clubs outside of England from January, although the Robins would be eligible for compensation having first brought him to Ashton Gate in 2019 from Monaco when he was 18.
Another prominent figure currently out of the starting XI and also, coincidentally, in a contract year is Dan Bentley, albeit with the 29-year-old still part of the matchday 18.
Like Massengo, Bentley also lost his place in the wake of the 3-0 loss at Birmingham City, with Max O'Leary taking over the gloves, as was the case for a period of nine Championship games last season before the club captain forced his way back in. Bentley admitted he "hated" the time he was out of the first team earlier this year, and seems to be experiencing similar emotions this time around.
"He's grumpy but he wouldn't be anything else, and that's fine," Pearson said. "That type of thing I don't worry about it, because the most important thing is what the team needs. (With) everybody, I try to, apply the same selection criteria to whatever situation."
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