Ahead of Bristol City's 1-0 defeat to Swansea City on Sunday afternoon, Robins' technical director Brian Tinnion sat down with BBC Radio Bristol to discuss on and off the field matters at Ashton Gate.

Unlike the fan's forum earlier this season, where Liam Manning, Jon Lansdown and Jason Knight were also in attendance, the Robins' technical director conducted his discussion on his own, with the conversation broadcast live.

With the January transfer window now in the rear view mirror, questions surrounded a whole host of topics including the Reds' recent squad update, summer and winter transfer decisions, Nahki Wells' future in the West Country and a whole lot more.

Due to the length of the interview, covering every single point Tinnion made would make for an incredibly extensive read. If you want to listen to the extended conversation with the technical director, it can be heard via BBC Sounds. But for now, we have summarised the major talking points here...

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Summer and January recruitment

On the eve of deadline day, Bristol City shared a squad update that explained their approach to the winter transfer window. In that statement, the Reds confirmed that they had initially planned to sign four players and sell three players in the summer, but instead secured seven new signings and only sanctioned the exit of two players.

This meant that the primary plan for January was to move back within the original budget by slimming the bloated playing squad. That was achieved thanks to the loan exits of Kal Naismith, Rob Atkinson, Fally Mayulu and the departure of a couple of younger prospects.

On Sunday, Brian Tinnion explained exactly how the Reds found themselves in this position, admitting that the signings of both Luke McNally and George Earthy weren't originally planned at the start of the transfer window.

"In the summer when [Rob] Dickie got injured late on in the window, we went and bought McNally, which took us a bit over budget, to be honest," Tinnion told BBC Radio Bristol. "But we needed McNally and he was always on our list of centre-halves who we really liked, good age and he's been a fantastic player for us so far. We did go over a little bit and it was something had to straighten out a little bit in January. We had to get a few off of the wage bill and we had to get the budget back to where it should have been.

"These players become available. We brought George Earthy in because [Scott] Twine didn't look like it was going to happen. Two days after we brought George Earthy in, Twine happened. It's football, it's never straightforward and you're going to make some mistakes and we hold our hands up.

"We've got a process, we've got a recruitment team I think have done fantastic. Sean [Gillespie] leads that. They come in, they come to me, we speak with Liam and Hoggy and then Liam has the final say in all transfers. We're really comfortable with what we're doing and Liam I think is happy with the squad. When the window shut, the squad was there for him to see and I think we look pretty strong."

Fally Mayulu loan exit and future

Few strikers have had as good a start to their Bristol City career as Fally Mayulu. The Frenchman hit the ground running following his summer move from Rapid Vienna with two goals in his first two Championship appearances but failed to score in any of his next 14 appearances for the Robins.

Midway through the January transfer window, he returned to the Austrian Bundesliga, joining Sturm Graz on loan for the remainder of the season. Liam Manning explained that the hope was the move would allow the 22-year-old to implement his development on the training pitch onto the playing field with consistent match minutes and that his long-term future would be assessed in the summer.

Brian Tinnion shed some additional light on this deal as he confirmed the Robins had secured a loan fee for the striker's services and also suggested Sturm Graz are covering all of Mayulu's wages, while also reinforcing the Reds' plan to look at his development come the end of the season.

"You wouldn't have said that after three games but after 23 you're probably right," Tinnion responded when it was suggested the Frenchman hadn't worked out at Ashton Gate. "But he's young. If you said after five months of Anis Mehmeti, you'd probably say he hasn't worked out but 18 months later he's your top scorer and he's thriving.

"Fally's a 21, 22-year-old. That's the market we're in. We're not in the market to go and buy a [Ellis] Simms at Coventry City for £8million. We can't do it. We wanted to buy two young ones to develop them and hope they hit the ground running. Fally's gone out to get some valuable experience. We could have sold him in January to two Championship clubs and a German club, but we thought we'd loan him to Sturm Graz.

"They paid us a loan fee, they paid us all his wages and he's going to play some games to continue to develop. Then we'll sit down in the summer and see where he is. He's got the potential, that's why two other Championship clubs wanted to buy him and a German club and an Austrian team who have just come out of the Champions League last week wanted to take him on loan. Everyone can see his potential. Yes, he hasn't reached it here yet, but he's six months into a four-year contract."

Sinclair Armstrong wanted

If there was one summer signing who has divided the opinion of supporters in his first season as a Bristol City player it is Sinclair Armstrong. The Ireland youth international moved to Ashton Gate from QPR last summer and has managed to score three goals in his first 22 Championship appearances.

While he is a raw talent, there have been flashes, particularly in recent weeks, of the ability the 21-year-old possesses. He is as quick as any forward in the division, as strong as any opposing defender and he works hard. Yes, he still needs to improve in the final third, but there's a lot to like about how he plays the game.

The Robins are understood to have paid just under £2million for the forward's signature. He may not have yet matched that price tag, but at just 21-years-old and with three-and-a-half years left on his contract, there is plenty of time for him to continue his development. Because of his physical attributes and growth in his time in the West Country, Brian Tinnion has suggested Armstrong could have been sold for a profit last month.

"Sinclair's developing well," said the 56-year-old. "Sinclair we could have sold for double our money in January. He's one of the most wanted young strikers around because he's powerful, he's quick, he gets people turned down, he runs in behind and that's what we were looking for.

"They're not all going to hit off straight away, they're not. We knew we had the experience of Nahki, Liam sees Sam Bell as a nine, so we've got Sincs, we've got Nahki, we've got Belly and Corns is still here and Corns can play as a nine."

Plan for loanees

Of course, there is an awful lot of football for Bristol City to play between now and the end of the season and still a fair bit to play for, even after Sunday's frustrating defeat to Swansea City.

However, the nature of squad building, particularly at Championship level, means that one eye has to be on the future. While City don't have deals in place for the summer as they did at this stage of last season, they do have several players out on loan currently, namely Josh Stokes, Jamie Knight-Lebel and Rob Atkinson.

All three have impressed, when fit, during their spells with their respective loan clubs. Plans can change quickly in football and nothing is ever set in stone, but at this moment in time, Brian Tinnion has suggested Stokes, Knight-Lebel and Atkinson are all expected to be a part of Liam Manning's plans next term.

"Josh Stokes is doing really well at Cambridge and he'll come into our squad next year," said the technical director. "Jamie Knight-Lebel is doing fantastic, he'll come in. Rob Atkinson with 15 games in the Championship will come in so I'm talking about all the lads who are still under contract from our squad today, plus Joe Williams, plus [Ross] McCrorie, plus [Cam] Pring, plus Rob Atkinson, Jamie Knight-Lebel, Josh Stokes. The squad is going to be really strong, competitive, young and hungry and that's what we're trying to do."

Academy pathway

One of the complaints levelled at Bristol City from some supporters so far this season has been the lack of opportunities for young academy players in the first team, with Elijah Morrison in particular struggling for regular minutes.

The sheer size of Liam Manning's squad has meant that there has been limited room for young prospects to feature on the bench, but Brian Tinnion's hope is that now the squad has been trimmed down, there should be more opportunities for the likes of Morrison and Josh Campbell-Slowey to feature in the final third of the season.

"We're happy that Elijah Morrison gets a chance to come on the bench now and Josh Campbell-Slowey is nearly fit again and he'll be pushing," Tinnion said. "The academy is important to us and we blocked that a little bit by having too many players in the squad.

"That's why Kal Naismith went out because Josh Campbell-Slowey, if he's fit, is pushing to be on the bench to cover that position. It's definitely in our thoughts and that's what we want."

With at least 15 games left of the campaign, it will now be down to Manning to decide whether or not he wants to turn to the academy prospects in around his side. The pathway may be in place, but it takes the trust of a manager for the end result to be a young player featuring on a matchday.

Antoine Semenyo sell-on

At this moment in time, it isn't clear who the next big-money player Bristol City can sell to a Premier League club, like Alex Scott, Adam Webster or Antoine Semenyo, is in Liam Manning's squad. A lot of the Reds' ability to spend in recent years has come due to the fees they have received for some of the best and brightest talent.

However, one avenue that could be set to make City a bit of extra money could come courtesy of one of those players who are no longer on their books. Speculation has been surrounding Semenyo in recent months given his impressive form for Bournemouth so far this season.

Under the management of Andoni Iraola, the 25-year-old has scored seven goals and laid on three assists in 23 Premier League games this term which has seen him linked with a potential move to some of English football's biggest clubs. Although you'd have to imagine it would take a lot for the Cherries to sanction his exit, Brian Tinnion has insisted that a portion of any fee received will be heading towards the West Country.

"Antoine Semenyo went to Sunderland on loan in League One at 21 and they sent him back saying he wasn't good enough," explained the former City midfielder. "At 22, we sold him for £10million to the Premier League. He's going to go for £50-£60million and we've got a real percentage on that."

How much of any potential transfer fee falls into the City's wallet only time will tell, but those of a Red persuasion will be hoping someone pays big money to secure the Ghanaian international's signature this month.

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