Bristol City manager Nigel Pearson says he will not deny forward Antoine Semenyo from a move to the Premier League if a suitable offer is received.
Semenyo, 22, was a target for Nottingham Forest in the January transfer window when Steve Cooper had a bid turned down by the Robins, partly down to the fact that it was below the west country side's valuation of £20million, but also due to Forest's status as a Championship rival.
Forest still have a fighting chance of promotion to the Premier League - they take on Sheffield United in the second-leg of their play-off clash on Tuesday (May 17) night - and could quite possibly return to the negotiating table at Ashton Gate this summer if they reach the top flight.
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Forest are not the only club to have been linked with a move for Semenyo - whose eight goals and 12 assists makes him one of the Championship most creative and dangerous youngsters. West Ham, Crystal Palace, Southampton, Brighton & Hove Albion, plus newly promoted Bournemouth and Fulham have all taken an interest.
Semenyo has given no indication that he necessarily wants to leave the Robins, but he is also yet to put pen to paper on a new contract. His current terms run out next summer and the Robins hold all of the cards given there is also an option to extend his stay by 12 months, but Pearson says they would not deny the forward a move to the Premier League if it was an acceptable offer for the club and player.
“I don’t spend too much time worrying about that. I think we will, in time, have decisions to make on him but hopefully he’ll be here this year,” Pearson told BBC Radio Bristol.
“Would I stand in his way of going to top a Premier League side? Absolutely not. But it would have to be the right deal for us, as a team. As a football club, the financial offset for losing someone like Antoine is going to be considerable and people need to be aware of that.
“We don’t want to be a selling club, we want to keep our best player, of course we do, but the reality of where we are is there are times when that stance will be stretched and it will be questioned, and what we have to do is make the right decision for us as a football club.
"We’ll have a better chance of succeeding next year if Antoine is here. But if he goes somewhere he’s going to be expensive for somebody.”
