Bristol City boss Nigel Pearson has taken a swipe at midfielder Tyreeq Bakinson as the Ipswich Town target heads to the Ashton Gate exit.

The Blues are working on a move for the 23-year-old, which could see him join on loan for the season before potentially making the move permanent at a later date.

Confirming he is happy for Bakinson to move on, Pearson suggested the central midfielder is able to leave having made it clear he no longer wishes to be at the Championship club.

When asked if Bakinson is close to leaving Ashton Gate, Pearson told Bristol Live: "Yes. As far as I'm concerned, and I've said it before, if players don't want to be here they can go.

"I'm not bothered. He's a player who unfortunately just wants to play on his own terms. It's not something I particularly want so he can go.

"I'm not wasting energy on negativity, I don't invest time on that, I'm not just saying it. If you ask people who work with me they'll say exactly the same thing, I don't waste energy on negativity, it drives me mad.

"If people aren't in the side, I want them to work hard to get there and I want people who are in the side to work hard to stay there. I don't want people that when the going gets tough, they want to go somewhere else, I'm not interested.

"The fact that I am prepared to say, 'yeah, let the deal go ahead' because actually, people around the place who sap the energy out of other people is not as valuable as having people here who want to be playing."

Bakinson joined Bristol City from Luton in 2017, at a time when Town CEO Mark Ashton was in the same role with the Robins.

He’s made 33 starts and 20 substitute appearances during his time at Ashton Gate, but has slipped down the pecking order in recent weeks.