Paying just above £7m for Han-Noah Massengo in the summer, Bristol City showed the world they meant business, seeing a talent they liked and making sure they landed him.
Coming from Monaco’s reserves, the now 18-year-old immediately slotted into the Robins’ first-team, becoming a regular throughout the first half of the campaign before seeing his game time reduced a bit later on.
Following his good start with the Championship side, the player sat down with Onze Mondial for a lengthy interview in which he explained how the move to Ashton Gate came about.
He said: “It all happened naturally. I wanted one thing: to play. That’s what Bristol offered me. When they showed me their project, they were clear. They clearly explained they were going to do everything for me to develop, while being there for me, without offering me the moon.
They said: ‘We’re going to play you in as many games as possible, but don’t think you’ll play every match because the Championship is really hard’. There were other choices, but for my personal development, this was the best”.
Onze Mondial put it to him that moving from Monaco, a club in Ligue 1 that has a history of promoting young talent to the first-team, to Bristol City, a club few in France will have heard of, could be seen as a strange choice.
Massengo said: “Yes, I understand, but careful, the Championship isn’t rubbish. Recently, there was Wayne Rooney on the pitch against us. They aren’t jokers. We play against strong teams and players. And the intensity is really high.
“Ligue 1 is a less intense league. Here, everything goes a thousand miles an hour. There’s no time to relax. It feels like there’s more games than training sessions. Yes, my choice can seem surprising, but it’s my choice. People can talk, I don’t care one bit”.
Since joining the club in the summer, the youngster has made 25 appearances for Bristol City, who currently lie seventh in the Championship; a position they could stay in for the foreseeable future as all football is currently suspended in England until at least April 3rd.
