“It’s very simple, the club has to receive an acceptable offer, something that will allow us to plan for the future,”
17:54, 26 Jul 2026Updated 17:54, 26 Jul 2026
Dom Ballard of Leyton Orient in action
Leyton Orient will only part with Bristol City transfer target Dom Ballard if they receive an “acceptable offer” this summer.
Ballard is amongst the strikers connected with a move to strengthen Michael Skubala’s attacking options ahead of the 2026/27 campaign, as despite the arrival of Lorent Tolaj, and with Emil Riis still at Ashton Gate, the Robins want more attacking options.
The Orient frontman netted 23 League One goals during his first season at Brisbane Road, despite Richie Wellens’ team finishing 20th in the division and only confirming their survival on the final day.
Championship outfit Bristol City have already seen an initial bid for the 21 year old rejected. The Robins’ offer was understood to be in the region of £4million.
Orient majority shareholder David Gandler has now clarified the club’s position on Ballard with five weeks of the window left. “It’s very simple, the club has to receive an acceptable offer, something that will allow us to plan for the future,” he said.
“If that doesn’t happen, we are under no pressure to sell. I do believe that there are clubs out there that think we’re still little Leyton Orient. We’re not.
“We want to be able to deliver on our goal, which is to build a sustainable Championship club. We will do that.
“We obviously also want to continue to support the career of players such as Dom Ballard. We have done that, we have developed a platform for him to be able to showcase his skills, but again, it’s very important for us to assure we get offers that we think will create value for the football club over the long term.
“We are under no pressure to sell any players, unless it’s feasible.”
Sign up for our City newsletter
Bristol City will be hoping new manager Michael Skubala is the man who can lead them up the table and you won’t miss a beat with our free newsletter.
All the latest news, views, interviews, gossip and analysis concerning the Robins, delivered straight to your inbox.
It’s completely free and you can sign up HERE
Speaking after Orient’s friendly on Saturday, O’s boss Richie Wellens said: “I never hold players back, and it’s a fine line for me. One to not hold on back and let him follow his career and make the step up to a Championship, financially, it’s obviously a vast difference what he can earn elsewhere, but we have to be strong, and we have to hold our valuation for what we believe for the EFL League One player of the season, the EFL top goal scorer in League One.
“Will Lankshear just gone for 310 million to Middlesbrough. So, for me, the price of a young goal scorer, whose career is only gonna go one way, which is a massive upward curve, the club has to make the offer.
“The only thing that I am worried about is, we’ve got plans if Dom goes, and we’ve got signings that we can make, and if we leave it, and we lose them signings, and then it happens late, which I’ve been in that situation before, it might leave us in a situation where we’ve lost our man, we’re still short. I don’t want that.”
Bristol City Live on Whatsapp
Join Bristol City Live’s Whatsapp community for all the biggest Bristol City stories sent straight to your phone
Bristol City Live is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our community.
Through the app, we’ll send the Bristol City news, live match coverage, team news, transfers, fixtures, analysis and more straight to your phone.
To join our community you need to already have WhatsApp. All you need to do is click this link and select ‘Join Community’.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Bristol Live team.
We also treat community members to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out at any time you like.
To leave our community, click on the name at the top of your screen and choose ‘Exit group’.
If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.