When to expect Bristol City’s retained list and why not to expect transfers anytime soon

The 2021/22 season is over for City and now there is a desire to know who will be at Ashton Gate next season
Andy King is a player out of contract and a decision wil have to be made soon. (Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images)Andy King is a player out of contract and a decision wil have to be made soon. (Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images)
Andy King is a player out of contract and a decision wil have to be made soon. (Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images)

Clubs across the Championship, League One and League Two are this week releasing their retained lists.

A retained list is the players you are keeping this season, mainly due to them being under contract for another year at the club.

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It also includes what players have been offered new contracts with their deals due to expire this summer, as well as who hasn’t been offered new terms.

When should Bristol City release their retained list?

There is some leeway for the Robins to decide when they want to release to the public who they are keeping and who they are letting go.

Before City’s game with Hull, Nigel Pearson said that he has discussed with his players their futures and it was up to them to act accordingly.

This could hint at it being not too far off as the City chief knows who he wants to keep and who should begin looking at joining a new club.

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In a rule that helps the security of players and allows them to plan ahead, clubs must submit their retained lists to the EFL by no later than the third month of May, which is Saturday, 21 May this year.

That leaves ten days for the club to publish it to the governing body, but as mentioned, perhaps expect it sooner given there are no loose ends to tie up.

Bristol City earlier this week announced who was staying and going in their Women’s team, so news shouldn’t be too far off.

Who is out of contract?

First-team players like Callum O’Dowda, Andy King, Timm Klose and Robbie Cundy are out of contract this summer.

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Pearson has spoken about his desire to keep hold of Cundy and Klose, especially given how they have played in the last stretch of the season in the absence of Tomas Kalas.

Klose was signed on a six-month contract after being a free agent, whilst Cundy has been with the club since 2019, but only made his league debut this year.

For King, he was signed on a one-year deal but his time here has been plagued with injury with two surgeries on his hamstring. The boyhood City fan did appear in the squad for the last few matches which may give an indication of whether he is staying or not. He could have his time extended here given the unfortunate lengthy injury to Ayman Benarous.

Bristolian Louis Britton is out of contract and is currently on loan at Waterford, he is expected to depart Ashton Gate this summer.

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Someone like Kasey Palmer is contracted for another year, so don’t expect him to be on the released list, given he’s still got a deal to run. Some clubs make people aware of which players are available for transfer, but that is up to them, rather than an instruction.

When will the EFL publish the official list of released players?

Clubs are already publishing their lists but things can change by the May 21 deadline with new contracts offered which players will mull over.

Plenty are widely available which allows teams to put together a free agent list as they plan their targets for the summer.

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The EFL will release the list in the second week of January, which is Saturday, January 11.

Players are now free agents, should I expect any deals soon?

Yes and no is the answer to that.

A change to EFL regulations means that any club announcing any signings now runs the risk of clubs coming in and scuppering what may seem a confirmed deal. This year the EFL will fall in line with the international transfer window, meaning that no new signing will be confirmed until the window opens on June 10.

Clubs can agree deals with players but that would only be regarded as a gentleman’s handshake and not a binding deal. This change in rules comes from FIFA, who instructed the FA to inform the EFL to follow the rest of what Europe was doing.

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If a club is certain that a prospective new player will abide by the deal then they can announce him but he won’t become an official player until June 10 and even then, most contracts expire after June 30.

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