Nigel Pearson has reiterated his message that Bristol City are not in the business of helping their Championship rivals amid interest from Cardiff City and Swansea City in taking Nahki Wells on loan.
As first reported by the Telegraph, the Bluebirds and Swans have enquired about Wells' availability with the January transfer window closing on Monday and the Bermudian remaining on the periphery of Pearson's squad.
Wells was an unused substitute as the Robins drew 2-2 at Preston North End and is effectively fourth-choice striker at Ashton Gate following Antoine Semenyo's progress.
But, as he said earlier this month with reference to Kasey Palmer, Pearson doesn't want to lose a player for minimal financial compensation who has the potential to strengthen a rival with Cardiff 11 points behind City and Swansea two.
When asked about interest from Cardiff and Swansea at Deepdale, Pearson asked, "who?" before briefly expanding on the situation.
"Maybe there is but why would we help them?" Pearson said. "I've got no intention of helping anybody, players who are contracted to us will remain contracted to us until we decide that is no longer the case, so you can speculate all you want."
The situation with Wells is not wholly straightforward. He is among City's highest earners and is not providing any value on the pitch having started just five Championship fixtures all season.
The Robins are paying a substantial salary for a player who is offering minimal return but allowing him to join a rival would reduce Pearson's squad options and increase those of a team around them in the table.
Given Wells' salary any decision to let him leave would likely require a significant wage contribution, in the event of a loan, or a permanent deal, which could then allow City themselves to add reinforcements.
As has been the case with Kasey Palmer, that hasn't transpired yet but much could change over the next 24 hours especially with the Bluebirds potentially selling Kieffer Moore to Bournemouth.
The Robins do need to bring their wage bill down, in the wake of record losses for the financial year ending 2021, but that has to be achieved without directly impacting the strength of the team.
That being said, with Semenyo's considerably development over the last two months - the 22-year-old has four goals and six assists in 15 appearances - plus the reliability of Chris Martin and Andi Weimann and prospects Tommy Conway and Sam Bell also in the background, Wells could be seen as the most expendable of the group.
From City's perspective, Pearson told BBC Radio Bristol there is unlikely to be any activity at the High Performance Centre unless individuals can be moved on before adding his slight disinterest to the whole process.
"I won't be taking any interest in (deadline day) there's always lots of work behind the scenes - I've got no idea (incoming players) but I won't be watching any television with a ticking clock on," he added.
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