Nigel Pearson has confirmed the club are looking to offload out of favour defender Timm Klose this month while striker Chris Martin knows "exactly where he stands."
The Bristol City manager confirmed three players who are approaching the end of their contracts have been told they were free to leave the club during the January window in order to trim the wage bill and raise funds to bring in January arrivals. Although Pearson refused to divulge at the time which players they may be.
Despite wanting to do business early, City have yet to add a new face which has ultimately come down to the fact no senior players have left the club. Ryley Towler moved to Portsmouth earlier in the window but the transfer fee, thought to be low six-figures, will be reinvested in the academy.
Martin, 34, has failed to feature in the last four matchday squads and hasn't started a league match since the 1-1 draw with Wigan back in August. The option to extend his contract for another year was exercised in March during a campaign where he made 45 league appearances and scored 12 goals.
Klose, 34, also hasn't played since the 3-1 cup defeat to Lincoln towards the beginning of November. He has missed the last seven matchday squads having struggled in the earlier part of the season with a knee injury.
When asked if he was one of the players City were hoping to offload this month, Pearson responded: "Yes. It’s best for us to give you something concrete when it happens rather than get involved in speculation. Timm has been in discussion with the club."
Klose has fallen behind Zak Vyner, Rob Atkinson, Kal Naismith, Cam Pring, George Tanner and midfielder Andy King in the pecking order of central defenders, and while his wages are likely to be moderately low in comparison to other squad members, a move away would seemingly suit all parties.
Martin could also follow suit although the recent injuries to Andi Weimann and Tommy Conway may have an impact on the veteran's departure this month. Pearson confirmed the Austrian is out for two to three weeks while he couldn't provide a timeline on Conway's hamstring injury suggesting it's more serious.
When asked about Martin's future, Pearson responded: "He’s a player that knows exactly where he stands as do a number of players. What is also important is we don’t cut our nose off to spite our face.
"We have to remain competitive during the rest of the season with injuries being as they are, you’ll see from selection the direction we are going in. We’ve had enquiries about players but it just remains that, there has been tentative enquiries but not a lot going on really.
"I think it indicates where football feels it is at this level. Championship clubs are facing similar scenarios and coming to terms with the financial aspects of life post-COVID. It is understandable clubs aren’t doing business quickly.
"Because we are in a scenario at the moment where we need to move players before we bring players in, it appears other people are in the same position. It just means progress is slower in that regard."
Sam Bell, who has taken Martin's spot on the bench, is likely to earn some added game time over the next month due to the shortage of options in the attack. It will be intriguing and perhaps even more telling if Martin fails to make the matchday squad on Saturday with Weimann and Conway missing.
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