Nigel Pearson has admitted that he will not stand in Antoine Semenyo’s way if Bristol City receive an appropriate offer this summer.

The 22-year old has had an excellent season for the Robins, who finished 17th in the Championship.

The forward bagged eight goals and 12 assists in the league in an impressive campaign.

The club turned down an offer for Semenyo in January from Nottingham Forest as it fell well below their value of the player.

Pearson has now reiterated that any offer will have to be within City’s interests in order for it to be viewed as acceptable.

Forest are also a league rival, whereas the club would be much happier moving Semenyo on to a Premier League side if he were to depart this transfer window.

The 58-year old told BBC Radio Bristol he would not stand in Semenyo’s way if the club received a worthy offer for the player.

“I don’t spend too much time worrying about that. I think we will, in time, have decisions to make on him but hopefully he’ll be here this year,” said Pearson, via Bristol Live.

“Would I stand in his way of going to top a Premier League side? Absolutely not. But it would have to be the right deal for us, as a team. As a football club, the financial offset for losing someone like Antoine is going to be considerable and people need to be aware of that.

“We don’t want to be a selling club, we want to keep our best player, of course we do, but the reality of where we are is there are times when that stance will be stretched and it will be questioned, and what we have to do is make the right decision for us as a football club.

"We’ll have a better chance of succeeding next year if Antoine is here. But if he goes somewhere he’s going to be expensive for somebody.”

 

 

It was believed that a £20 million figure was quoted as the asking price for Semenyo in January, so it is likely a figure in that region is what it would take the Robins to be tempted to accept any offer for the player.

Otherwise, it is likely that the 22-year old will remain at Ashton Gate for a further 12 months.

The Verdict

The forward has certainly seen his stock raised with his performances this season.

But a move to the Premier League at that price is unlikely, with another campaign of improved performances needed to make the jump to the top flight.

Given Semenyo only started 24 league games this season, his goal contribution tally is remarkable for the team who finished 17th in the table.

But helping Bristol City fight for a play-off place next season is what could be needed to really capture the attention of some of the bigger clubs in the country.