Bristol City club record £8m signing set for free transfer after Nigel Pearson admission

Nigel Pearson has admitted that it is unlikely that Tomas Kalas will return to Bristol City, after talks went cold.

Club record signing Kalas was offered a new contract in May, but there have been no improvement on the situation, and now his time at Ashton Gate looks to be coming to an end. The 30-year-old has remained in his base near Bristol, but did not link up for pre-season with the Robins, with it being understood that there are opportunities to play abroad available to him.

In the past, City have welcomed players back who have been out-of-contract, such as Nathan Baker who was initially released but then came back, but that is unlikely to be repeated with Kalas. Rob Dickie has joined from QPR for an undisclosed fee, and there are several players who can play at centre-back, whilst youngsters Jamie Knight-Lebel and Raphael Araoye have performed well in pre-season.

Asked if the window was still open for the Czech Republic international to return, he jokingly responded: "Well if it is, it’s a bit draughty!

"I’ve not spoken to Tomas for weeks and I think that is something that is probably over now. I’m not gonna say definitely not because it’s not something that has been discussed at all."

As part of the clubs ongoing strategy to try and become more financially sustainable, new contracts offered to those already at the club, would be offered on reduced terms. Kalas joined from Chelsea for a big fee in 2019 following a loan spell, and it was during a period in which City were making a strong push for the Premier League after big money sales.

During Pearson's two-and-a-half-year tenure, he has been tasked with bringing the wage bill down and remaining competitive, and unfortunately he was unable to see much of Kalas last year. Centre-back has been a problem position for City and the former Fulham loanee was limited to just nine appearances last season, and so the club offered him a deal that they thought reflected what he was worth.

Pearson added: "We’re not going to shift on the financial aspects of where we were on him and that was the reason it didn’t go ahead. I think the probabilities are very very low."