This article is part of Football League World's 'The Verdict' series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...
Bristol City could be set to release Republic of Ireland international Callum O'Dowda, according to BristolLive.
The report states that although the Robins hold an option to trigger an extension on the midfielder's contract, which is due to expire this summer, the club have no intention of activating this option.
The 27-year-old has struggled with injury this campaign, making just 20 appearances for the club in the Championship.
His release would leave him able to join another club on a free transfer from the end of June onwards.
In reaction to the news, we asked three of our writers here at FLW for their thoughts on the reported Bristol City decision, and whether or not it was the right move for the club to make.
Ned Holmes
100% the right decision for Bristol City.
It’s been another frustrating campaign for Callum O’Dowda at Ashton Gate, with a few bright spots but plenty of difficult moments and disappointing displays.
The versatile winger has simply not fulfilled the potential he had when he first joined the club and keeping him beyond the end of the season would be a waste of money.
A fresh start should be the best thing for both the player and the club, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he had success elsewhere.
If Lee Johnson gets a job soon, it wouldn’t surprise me to see him make a move for the winger.
Billy Mulley
It is an interesting situation because he certainly possesses the ability to cause problems in the Championship but has not seen too much game time.
Yes, a lot of that does come down to injury, which would make extending his deal somewhat of a risk.
Bristol City will be looking to strengthen and improve, within their budget, and should that be the case, then O'Dowda will find himself down the pecking order.
The fact that five Championship clubs are in pursuit means that Bristol City's loss could be a boost for a divisional rival.
Possessing a wand of a left foot and good dribbling ability, O'Dowda is someone who desires to be playing regular Championship football, it is just a question of where that destination may be, and if he can stay fit.
Alfie Burns
It’s probably not entirely unsurprising from a Bristol City point of view.
Back in 2018/19, O’Dowda had produced eight goal involvements in the Championship and looked set to really step on heading into his prime.
Ultimately that’s not happened and things have gone awfully stale at Ashton Gate moving from Lee Johnson’s regime to, eventually, Nigel Pearson’s.
That’s not just O’Dowda, mind, it’s the club as a whole.
There needs to be fresh faces through the door in the summer and that requires a bullish view of the squad that’s already there.
Simply, O’Dowda hasn’t been hitting the heights we know he can and you’d question whether he’d be worth an extension.
It’s hard to say that Bristol City are making a mistake in this instance.