Bristol City dealt significant transfer blow | OneFootball

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Football League World

·6 June 2023

Bristol City dealt significant transfer blow

Article image:Bristol City dealt significant transfer blow

Bristol City will not be re-signing defender Joe Bryan this summer, according to Bristol Live.

It had seemed that Bryan was set to return to Ashton Gate as Bristol Live reported last month that the Robins had won the race for his signature ahead of a number of Championship clubs, including Cardiff City, Swansea City, Blackburn Rovers, Stoke City and Millwall.


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Bryan is likely to leave Fulham this summer when his contract expires and City were said to have made a "early, persuasive and financially-appealing pitch" to bring him back to the South West.

Who is Joe Bryan?

The 29-year-old began his career with the Robins, coming through their academy and establishing himself as a first-team regular, scoring 20 goals in 230 appearances before joining the Cottagers in August 2018.

Bryan has achieved two promotions to the Premier League during his time at Craven Cottage in 2020 and 2022, but he has fallen out of favour under Marco Silva in recent years, and he spent this season on loan with French side Nice, making just 11 appearances in all competitions.

What is the latest on Joe Bryan's potential Bristol City return?

The Robins' hopes of re-signing Bryan appear to be over after he "indicated he wants to continue playing overseas".

City were confident that they had secured a deal for Bryan, but "the prospect of offers from beyond the UK - with a degree of interest emerging in America" means that the left-back has opted against a return.

However, there is more positive news for the Robins as they are set to complete the signings of Brighton & Hove Albion's Haydon Roberts and Aberdeen's Ross McCrorie, while the addition of QPR defender Rob Dickie was announced yesterday.

What next for Bristol City?

There is no doubt that missing out on Bryan is a big blow for City.

The 29-year-old would have added defensive and offensive quality for Nigel Pearson's side and would have helped to instill a winning mentality at Ashton Gate having won promotion from the Championship twice with Fulham.

Bringing in a left-back will be a priority for Pearson after Jay Dasilva's departure, but Roberts is capable of playing there, and he could provide the solution in that position, while Cameron Pring is already on the club's books.

While there will undoubtedly be disappointment at Bryan's decision, it has still been an excellent start to the transfer window for the Robins overall with the signing of Dickie and the expected arrivals of Roberts and McCrorie.

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