Zak Vyner - Will He Go?

The elephant in the room that threatens to dominate Bristol City's final week of the window
Bristol City have left themselves vulnerable to offers for Zak Vyner as contract talks look to have stalled

They were two small unprompted lines delivered as Nigel Pearson was once again asked about a transfer window that has, for the most part, been incredibly positive for Bristol City but could end with a degree of irritation.

Almost lost amid the reinforcement of the message that the prospect of any further recruits is unlikely due to their self-imposed wage ceiling, they could be deemed almost superfluous in the overall context of the topic which has come to dominate the discourse among fans this week as September 1 draws near. Except, Pearson is a manager who rarely chooses to waste his words.

Having first said, “...it’s important that we try and keep our squad together as well,” when asked around recruitment, before later adding, “… and I don’t want to lose players, either.”

To reiterate this wasn’t a subject area initially ventured by assembled media, although a follow-up question then yielded this response: “Hopefully if someone does come in for our players, the club doesn’t allow that to happen because if we lost a player, we don’t have a lot of time to do much.”

It was something the manager mentioned for a very clear reason. Yes, you could argue it was an extension of the conversation around having money to spend, which could be a result of Alex Scott’s sale, but the Robins No7 and Pearson’s disappointment over the club sanctioning that particular sale was never spoken about. Any debate may resurface but, for now, that’s long gone.

Therefore it was a statement largely independent of Scott and can only lead to one sensible conclusion: there's genuine concern from the manager it could well happen over the next eight days.

That inevitably leads to an identity parade of potential subjects for transfer bids but with Tommy Conway injured for the next 8-10 weeks, and with the greatest of respect to the other members of the squad, it essentially leaves three prime suspects: Sam Bell, Cam Pring and Zak Vyner.

All three academy products have been the subject of speculation over the summer, for differing reasons, but without getting too much into a guessing game we’ll reach our conclusion nice and quickly: any interest reported in Bell is thought to be purely based on the presence of scouts at Ashton Gate and Bristol Live understands positive contract have taken place with Pring and there is a confidence a resolution will be reached.

In effect, unless someone is lurking in the shadows looking to make a surprise bid for someone else, the likely subject of Pearson’s warning is the club Players’ Player of the Year who has started all four matches this season and, assuming he makes it a fifth at Hull City, will be - admittedly for one game only - the club’s only fit senior specialised centre-back.

Without needing to emphasise the player Vyner has become in terms of skillset, that paragraph alone should emphasise why keeping the 26-year-old beyond September 1 is so important. Losing him at this stage of the window would be verging on the disastrous.

The reason that has become a possibility is a combination of his development as a player and the fact that in less than 12 months he can leave City on a free transfer.

As stated by Pearson after the win over Millwall, in which Vyner was outstanding, there has been no development in terms of contract talks. The understanding is the situation remains the same and the Robins have left themselves vulnerable to offers over the next eight days, should interest in the Bath-raised defender transform into a credible bid.

Of course, the prospect of City selling him seems ridiculous, given a lack of resources in that position until Rob Atkinson returns from his ACL which is likely to be nearer 2024 than this present moment in time. The idea of Pearson having to keep the Dickie-Vyner axis intact until January is risky but still probable, as various players in other positions provide additional cover and options, but to play across that period with just Dickie in situ seems inconceivable.

As reported earlier this month, Vyner has interest in the Championship and beyond - although Rangers manager Michael Beale quickly dismissed the idea of the Scottish giants being interested in a move - and as September 1 approaches, more than a few clubs in need of a central defender will surely be casting their eye to Ashton Gate and the promise of a player approaching his prime who looks to be on an upward trend in terms of ability, available for a vastly reduced fee.

Swansea City, as one example, could be set to lose Nathan Wood to Southampton for £10m. You don’t need to join too many dots to then theorise what the Swans could do next in the market.
https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport/football/elephant-room-threatens-dominate-bristol-8702629