A Star Sold for £0: Bristol City got nothing back after £7m agreement

The 24/25 campaign will be Bristol City’s tenth in a row in the Championship, with some fans growing increasingly frustrated at the club’s failure to kick-on in that decade.

Bristol City will be playing in the Championship for the eleventh time straight this season, and some supporters are getting more and more irate at the team’s inability to improve throughout that time.

They haven’t always been heavy hitters by Championship standards, but over time, money has been spent. Sadly, things haven’t always turned out well; their shoddy spending is best illustrated by Han-Noah Massengo.

Han-Noah Massengo’s time at Bristol City

In 2019, the 18-year-old midfielder from Monaco was offered a contract worth €8 million (£7 million) by the Robins in what appeared to be a serious declaration of intent.

This guy had played for France at several young levels and was a member of the Monaco first squad.


It was believed that with his technical skill with the ball, he might add more class and poise to the middle of the park and develop into a great player who could eventually be sold for a high price.

It turns out that was not the case.

Bristol City’s transfer strategy

For Bristol City, the Massengo deal was viewed as an investment. This was someone who should be able to contribute in the short-term, but, crucially, with the hope that his value would increase down the line.

Then, as Brighton has demonstrated, you can profit when the timing is right and put that money back into the team. That’s how most teams at this level have to run, and that would have been the hierarchy’s strategy at Ashton Gate.

In other words, the owner is unable to continue covering the club’s losses. To strengthen the team, they must sell in order to make purchases, and Massengo was a gamble that paid off handsomely for the team.

Thankfully, there has been some positive news for Bristol City in terms of player development.

After rising through the ranks to make an impact in the first team, Alex Scott was a clear success story, and Bournemouth paid more than £20 million to recruit him in the summer. That agreement meant the team Were able to sign players who were about to enter their prime, such as Jason Knight, Taylor Gardner-Hickman, and Ross McCrorie.

Were able to sign players who were about to enter their prime, such as Jason Knight, Taylor Gardner-Hickman, and Ross McCrorie.

 

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*