Bristol City plotting move to beat La Liga clubs to signing of 8-goal winger | OneFootball

Bristol City have reached a verbal agreement to sign Giorgi Abuashvili from Kolkheti Poti, although there is rival interest from clubs abroad.

Bristol City have reached an agreement with Kolkheti Poti for the signing of Giorgi Abuashvili, although they still need to convince the player amid interest from clubs across Europe.

The 22-year-old attacker, who can play down either flank, is the latest highly-rated talent to emerge in Georgia, and he represented his country in the recent U21 European Championships.

Abuashvili’s form for his country at that level, and domestically for Kolkheti, appears to have caught attention, with the winger a man in-demand in the summer window.

Bristol City hoping to win transfer tussle for Giorgi Abuashvili

That’s after TEAMtalk revealed that Bristol City are looking to bring the player to Ashton Gate, although any deal won’t be straightforward, as there is plenty of rival interest in Abuashvili.

They claim that Getafe, Espanyol and Elche have a ‘strong interest’ in the youngster, with clubs from Portugal, England and France also in the mix.

However, the Robins are making a strong push to land Abuashvili, with the report stating they have reached a ‘verbal agreement’ with Kolkheti Poti for the forward, who has scored eight times this season.

But, as it stands, Abuashvili is ‘not rushing’ into a decision on his future, as he is determined to assess all his options before picking the best club for his development.

Bristol City must back Gerhard Struber in summer transfer window

This is an exciting update for Bristol City fans, and whilst many won’t know anything about Abuashvili considering he is playing in Georgia’s top division, he is clearly very highly-rated.

They are a country that has improved significantly in recent years, and they have shown they can develop some excellent attacking players.

Giorgi Chakvetadze has impressed in the Championship with Watford, whilst Georges Mikautadze is a key player at Lyon, with PSG’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia undoubtedly one of the top wingers in the world right now.

Of course, Abuashvili has some way to go before he can reach the levels of those players, but it shows there is talent in the country, and Bristol City are right to be scouring Europe for ways to improve the team.

Struber is inheriting a team that reached the play-offs, so they do have quality, but further additions are required if they are to replicate that this season.

Most would agree that attacking reinforcements should be the priority, and Abuashvili could add some pace and unpredictability to a Bristol City side that sometimes lacks that.

The level of interest in the player shows this won’t be easy to get over the line, but you would expect a decision to be made in the coming days or weeks, and it will be intriguing to see if Struber and the recruitment team can convince Abuashvili to come to England.