Bristol City boss provides update on Coventry City and Swansea City transfer target

Nigel Pearson said he would like Tomas Kalas to be at Bristol City next season but his stay will be determined by finances.

Kalas along with Jay Dasilva are out-of-contract this summer, and offers have been made to the former Chelsea pair. Both players are expected to accept pay cuts from the deals they had been offered in 2019, should they remain at Ashton Gate.

The Robins have been reducing the wage bill to help keep them within the parameters of Financial Fair Play, whilst also aiming to become sustainable. Both are the most high profile of possible departures, in what is a quieter summer in regards to outgoings.

“They have both had contract offers made to them,” said Nigel Pearson in his latest update.

“Jay’s was made to him in January, Tomas has had one recently. Apart from that no real news at the moment. I suppose those situations will be governed by finances, they’re governed by conversations.”

Kalas has been limited to nine matches this season, owing to a groin injury that has kept him sidelined for most of the season. He underwent an operation last season, causing him to miss the second-half of the campaign, and that continued in to next season.

The 30-year-old has made 155 appearances for the club over a four year spell, scoring once and assisting once. His absence this season has left City with only one senior recognised centre-back at times, and him staying would at least make it one less defender to find as Pearson looks to address the lack of depth at centre-back.

He said: “For Tomas, it’s really unfortunate for him, he’s been a regular performer for our club for a number of years now and he’s had two seasons of having to deal with injuries which have changed the complexion of how we look at it.

“He’s one of our top earners and the finances always come to play. I would very much like him to be with us next season, it’s very much if we come to an agreement.”

Dasilva was linked with a move away in January, with a move to Coventry City discussed whilst Swansea City have joined the race. His move was pending on whether Jack Currie joined from Wimbledon, but after a final bid of £600,000 didn’t work out, both players ended up staying put.

The 25-year-old ended up making 38 appearances last season scoring and assisting once. He started the season and had a long run of games but didn’t play regularly from mid-December to mid-February, but once Tomas Kalas got injured, Cameron Pring was moved to centre-back and he got his opportunity. Dasilva did not play in the last three matches of the campaign, and greeted the fans at Loftus Road, having not been a member of the match-day squad.

Pearson said: “There was a lot of talk about Jay leaving in January but I think Jay has been a very reliable performer, and I think he has a good season for us as well.

“We’ll see how that plays out. If you cast your mind back to Nathan Baker who was initially on the list of players to be released, we ended up re-signing him.

“The climate in the game has changed somewhat and everyone is being careful with their finances. We’ve made offers to the players and we’ll see how that goes.”