Bristol City and Cardiff City in transfer race for ex-Tottenham player | OneFootball

Championship duo Cardiff City and Bristol City are both leading the race to recruit 20-year-old midfielder Elliot Thorpe according to Football Insider, following the expiration of his contract at Tottenham Hotspur in the summer.

The midfielder, who can play in a more advanced role or more defensively as a versatile operator in the middle of the park, failed to make a senior appearance for Spurs during his time at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium but was a regular part of the Premier League giants’ Under-23s team.

He scored twice in 18 Premier League 2 appearances last term, but wasn’t sent out on loan by Nuno Espirito Santo’s men to gain more senior appearance so his move to one of the teams either of the Welsh border may provide him with his first taste of senior football.

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1. Brian Tinnion made 444 appearances for City

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Both sides are currently plying their trade in the top half of the Championship table as things stand, although Thorpe may not come in to make an instant impact and could link up with the winner’s youth setup for a while instead, or potentially be sent out on loan to the lower leagues.

With Thorpe on the cusp of youth international football with Wales, the 20-year-old will be desperate to make an impact and the fact no side will need to pay compensation to Spurs to recruit him may be tempting for interested clubs.

Premier League clubs Leicester City and Brentford were also thought to be previously monitoring his signature, although his craving for first-team football may just put Cardiff and Bristol City at the front of the queue.

The Verdict:

This will be a signing for the future for either club – and may be particularly useful to Bristol City as a potential long-term replacement for Andy King – who is now approaching his 33rd birthday at Ashton Gate.

However, the former Leicester City man still has at least one or two more years left to give to Nigel Pearson’s side, allowing the Robins’ manager to ease Thorpe into first-team football slowly.

Preferably, he would be assessed by Bristol City or Cardiff before being shipped out on loan in January, where scouts will then be able to monitor how he copes with the physical demands of senior football.

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As a central midfielder, this need to live up to the physicality of English football is especially important and if he does well in League One or League Two, he could potentially become an option at Ashton Gate or the Cardiff City Stadium in time for the beginning of the 2022/23 campaign.

They will need to be patient with the central midfielder though, because it may take him a while to get up to speed after being without a club since the summer and considering he would need to move away from the capital, it could take him a while to settle down at the club who wins his signature.