Nigel Pearson reveals state of play on Bristol City’s Han-Noah Massengo contract

Talks remain at an impasse over a new deal for Han-Noah Massengo at Bristol City,
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Nigel Pearson says that the on-going contract situation with Bristol City midfielder Han-Noah Massengo remains at a stalemate.

The 21-year-old is entering the last year of his contract that he signed in the summer of 2019 but no progress has yet been made about him extending his stay.

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Massengo reported back on time for pre-season and was part of the contingent that travelled to Austria for a warm weather training camp.

He has however found himself named as a substitute in a few matches, similar to what happened at the end of last season, with his contract situation affecting the team selection.

It has led to calls from the manager to the clubs hierarchy to work towards making it harder for players they are keen to keep from leaving on a free transfer.

Appearing on BBC Radio Bristol’s first Sound of the City of this season, Pearson was asked how close the club was to the Frenchman signing new terms with the club.

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He responded:  “You’ve got to ask the player that because I have no idea. The offer has been on the table for a season more or less.

When people talk about a player’s worth, a player’s worth for him here is he’s a squad member who may “get pitch time, that’s it.

“You know my thoughts on players running their contracts down. I think that we as a club need to have policies that don’t allow that in the future.

“We have invested an awful lot of money and time in him. Unfortunately we are at a point where he is in the last year of his contract.”

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Massengo was brought on as a substitute in the 1-0 win over AFC Bournemouth after recovering from a slight niggle in the friendly draw with Exeter City.

It was reported back in late May that Ligue One outfit OGC Nice had began talks with representatives about a possible deal taking place.

That was in addition to Pearson’s former club Leicester City also taking a reported interest, with Southampton and Bundesliga side Freiburg also teams interested from last summer.

So far however no club has made a definitive offer for the player which is a positive as the player can remain in the West Country, but also a negative that they could lose a player they exchanged a fee for for free.

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Pearson added: “There is nothing happening in terms of him committing himself longer to the club. There is absolutely nothing happening in people being interested in him.

“Whatever people think of players, the bottom line is we pay his wages and he will be a part of the squad or he will be whatever we want him to be until the time suits us to move him on or not.

“It’s unfortunate because it’s a lad I really like. The offer on the table is a good offer for him.

“But outside of that I can’t tell you what is in his brain or his representatives brains. Clearly it’s a situation we don’t want or he does either.”

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