Bristol City manager Liam Manning has given an update with a quartet of players who will currently see their contracts expire at the end of the season.
Andy King, Matty James, Joe Williams and Andreas Weimann are all waiting on news as to whether they will be staying with the Robins beyond the end of the current campaign.
32-year-old James has just passed 100 appearances for the club since joining from Leicester City in 2021, whilst ex-Wigan Athletic midfielder Williams has played 34 games this season in all competitions. Both have become mainstay’s of Manning’s midfield since he took over the mantle from Nigel Pearson in November.
Andreas Weimann, who joined from Derby County in 2018, has featured 20 times this season, but he is expected to leave and has already been loaned out to West Bromwich Albion until the end of the campaign. Midfielder King signed from OH Leuven in 2021 and took up a player/coach role in 2022.
City have had a relatively tough season and sit in 12th position in the Championship, 11 points off the play-off positions. They have, however, won their last two games since the 2-0 defeat to West Brom last month, including an impressive 1-0 win against the promotion-chasing Foxes.
Speaking to reporters ahead of this weekend’s clash with Sunderland, Manning addressed the situation:
“The talks are starting, to be fair,” he said, viaBristol Post. “I sit with Brian (Tinnion, Technical Director) every single day, it’s definitely something we need to address in the near future.
“We’ve got a heavy period for the next two weeks but players will always be the most important part of it in terms of having that discussion with them, as and when, and what that looks like, will happen, it’s just the timing is the most important thing.
“Me and Brian will have the discussions with the correct people and the direction and what it looks like, and once we’ve got a final decision we will communicate that with the players.
“It’s all in one, it’s everything.
“For me, I’m just concentrating on Saturday at the moment. We’ll have the discussions as and when and at the appropriate time.”
Writer’s View
A lot has been said about Manning since his appointment but whichever side of the fence you stand on, he has stabilised the Robins somewhat in the past few months.
City have already signed Max Bird for next season so the midfield competitions are going to become even tougher to nail down. That being said, every side needs experience. Decisions will need to be made on these players, but contracts won’t be offered for the sake of it. A mid-table finish gives a platform to build on and the manager will be keen to shape his squad ahead of a potential promotion push next season.
