Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Kalas poses questions for City after fine Euros
TOMAS Kalas reported back to the Robins High Performance Centre on Tuesday alongside Nahki Wells, with the Bristol City captain looking physically ready for a short pre-season before the campaign starts on August 7.
He returns to Bristol a hero in the Czech Republic after his exploits at Euro 2020 with a series of performances that have altered the dynamic around the centre-back and his position at Bristol City.
Ian Wright’s declaration that Kalas had been among the best defenders at Euro 2020 had Robins fans beaming with pride last month as the Arsenal legend made the comments on ITV ahead of the Czech Republic’s quarter-final defeat to Denmark.
Having won his place in the Czech XI just one warm-up game prior to their group stage campaign kicking off against Scotland, each performance from the 28-year-old saw him grow in stature and dominance. The apex was the last-16 triumph against the Netherlands, in which he caught Wright’s attention.
Kalas delivered five matches of excellent defensive play which showcased the very best of his orthodox style; booming headers, powerful blocks and muscular challenges, plus his prowess in terms of positioning and reading of the game.
He returns to Failand with his reputation considerably enhanced which presents the Robins and Nigel Pearson with an interesting scenario as to what will happen next.
Prior to Euro 2020 there had been no indication Kalas was either being considered as a saleable asset or that there was significant interest to enable such a scenario. But the question could well be asked over the coming weeks, for a number of reasons.
Beyond his displays for his country, the fact they’ve coincided with a summer window in which Pearson has made no secret of the fact he still needs to bring the wage bill down.
“Let’s be honest, we need to bring our wage bill down. I’m not going to hide from saying that, said Pearson in an interview broadcast on June 12, before Andi Weimann, Danny Simpson and Nathan Baker signed new deals and Matty James, Andy King and Rob Atkinson joined the squad.
It therefore has to remain a pertinent issue, as does the need to raise some transfer revenue for a coveted striker, with Pearson’s search for a No9 continuing.
As the manager said on July 9: “The situation regarding anyone else coming in is that the financial climate that we’re working in is quite a tough one.
“The striker situation, you know yourself... I only want to add players who are going to make us better. So if we can’t add a player who is going to make us better and that’s going to be expensive, the reality is that we’re probably going to have to sell before we buy.”
So, if you need to bring wages down and have to sell a player to create transfer revenue, then transferring one of your most-highly valued players who also happens to be the club’s highest earner could make sense. The question then becomes as to what sort of a market there is out there for him?
It’s ambitious to think City will recoup the £7.5m they paid Chelsea for him two summers ago in the present financial climate.
Of course, nobody wants to see
Kalas leave and the minute he’s removed from the Robins’ defensive unit you start to ask questions of it, in terms of depth and quality.
Some will feel keeping Kalas’ quality is absolutely fundamental for City to get anywhere near their aims for 2021/22. But circumstances, if that desire for a striker continues to be pushed, could dictate otherwise.
After the mid-week 3-3 draw with Portsmouth, Bristol City play host to MK Dons today in their latest preseason game at the Robins High Performance Centre (1.30pm).
Nigel Pearson likes to play down these contests, branding them glorified training matches but with two weeks until the season starts they can be vital for building fitness and team cohesion.
As Kasey Palmer alluded to in the wake of the Pompey result, he said he found that time on the field with Chris Martin and Andi Weimann was hugely important in working on the timing of their runs and anticipation of where the next pass will be.
Any hope Bristol City had of signing Blackpool frontman Jerry Yates this summer has ended with the
24-year-old signing a new long-term contract at Bloomfield Road.
Yates was one of the most indemand forwards across the Championship with the Robins having monitored him extensively throughout 2021 and Nottingham Forest, West Brom and Blackburn Rovers were the others also credited with an interest.
It’s unclear exactly how far City’s interest had got in the 24-year-old, who scored 23 goals in 54 games across all competitions, as the Tangerines were promoted to the second tier, but he was very much under consideration.
However, Blackpool kept the valuation of their top scorer high and their promotion only increased that beyond the £5million mark rendering any sale unlikely given the financial climate during the pandemic.
He will be at Ashton Gate for the start of the new Championship season on August 7 but lining up for Blackpool after penning his new three-year deal with the option for a further 12 months.
City have so far sold 12,500 season tickets for the new campaign.