Bristol City have not made the steps forward that Nigel Pearson will likely have hoped to see in his first full season at the helm.

There have been some fantastic performances along the way and a few standout individuals – the likes of Alex Scott, Antoine Semenyo, Andi Weimann – have been hugely impressive but there is no hiding the fact that the Robins are languishing down the wrong end of the table.

Had it not been for the points deductions of Derby County and Reading, City may well have been pulled into a relegation scrap.

Work needs to be done on the squad this summer to ensure that next term is more successful and, with that in mind, we've outlined two changes that we could see at the Ashton Gate outfit this summer...

The departures of a few of their high earners

City have struggled to offload high earners via the transfer market in previous windows but the summer could be the time when a few of the out-of-favour players that are taking up significant space on their wage bill depart.

Nahki Wells (the highest earner at the club at £27,000-a-week as per Salary Sport) and Kasey Palmer (the third-highest earner at £20,000) are two players that the Robins should be doing all they can to move on.

Both are entering the final years of their contract and at this point, it may be worth letting them leave for free rather than paying their wage in 2022/23.

Wells has a good goalscoring record in the EFL and should not be short of suitors but has been down the pecking order this term.

Palmer, meanwhile, has been out of favour completely and the South West club should look to capitalise on Birmingham City's reported interest to bring his disappointing spell at Ashton Gate to an end.

Getting rid of that pair would free up nearly £50,000-a-week in wages if Salary Sport is to be believed.

More emphasis on the loan market

City have been happy to make the most of the loan market by sending their up-and-coming players elsewhere but Pearson has made it no secret he is reluctant to use it to strengthen their squad.

Speaking ahead of the winter window, his comments suggested that his concerns are rooted in the prospect overpaying for players not better than the ones he already has but with most current loan deals ending once the season concludes there will be more players available in the summer window.

If the club act early, they should be able to land the right players on deals that make sense financially.

The Robins boss has had something of a free pass in terms of results this season but if City struggle again next term, it could be his head on the chopping block.

With clear issues in his squad, that may encourage him to look to the loan market and accept that if the right deals can be found, they could prove vital next term.