Bristol City: Structure of Middlesbrough's £5m Tommy Conway bid and Burnley interest revealed | OneFootball

Boro are understood to be keen on Robins striker Tommy Conway, and now it's understood a formal approach has been made.

Highlights

Middlesbrough have reportedly tabled a "heavily incentivised" bid worth up to £5m for Bristol City striker Tommy Conway amid interest from Burnley.

That's according to Bristol Live on Tuesday morning, which comes a day after Boro's interest in the wantaway forward was first revealed by Sky Sports.

Those initial talks appear to have quickly transitioned into formal interest from the Teessiders, who have long been reported to be targeting a centre-forward addition this summer.

Conway is only contracted to Bristol City for the 2024/25 season and has made it known to the club that he wishes to seek a transfer away from Ashton Gate, before the window shuts at the end of August.

Newly relegated Burnley are also understood to have made "tentative enquiries" over the possibility of striking a deal for Conway, but now they may need to act quickly or they could miss out on his signature.

Boro's Conway bid reveals Burnley's and Bristol City's stance

As revealed by Bristol Live, Middlesbrough have made a bid thought to be worth up to £5m for the Scotland international, in what would be a sizeable cash injection for the Robins for a player in the final year of his deal.

The 21-year-old has been training with City's Under-21 team, and has not taken part in any of the Robins' pre-season games over the course of the summer.

It is thought that Boro's offer for Conway is heavily incentivised, with the report detailing Bristol City are likely desiring a larger sum of money in guaranteed payments in order to commission a move to the Riverside Stadium.

Add-ons and performance-based incentives appear then to be making up a significant portion of Middlesbrough's offer, as a £5m up front fee is likely something the club would not be willing and or able to do.

As such, it could still take some time for a deal to be completed, as all parties involved haggle over those details.

Bristol Live also comment that the respective owners of the two clubs, Steve Gibson (Middlesbrough) and Steve Lansdown (Bristol City) enjoy one of the strongest relationships in the Championship, with their views on financial fair play being very much aligned with one another.

This could mean that Middlesbrough stand a greater chance than other would-be interested parties, with Michael Carrick hoping to add a quality striking option to pair with Emmanuel Latte Lath moving forward.

It remains to be seen whether this opening offer will meet Bristol City's valuation, or if indeed Boro will be required to up their bid in order to bring the talented Scotsman to the North East this summer.

Meanwhile, Bristol Live report that the door to Conway's signature hasn't been closed to other clubs, with Burnley understood to have tested the waters on what it might take to win his services this summer.

However, it appears that the Clarets would not be willing to match Boro's offer for Conway, as the report suggests that the valuation Scott Parker's side have placed on the striker does not match with that of Bristol City's.

Conway deal would be excellent business for both clubs

Coming through Bristol City's academy, Conway has been yet another shining example of the great work their academy has been doing in recent times, with the likes of Bobby De Cordova-Reid and Alex Scott both being sold for big money in recent times.

The striker has been a key player for the Robins over the last two seasons, bagging double-figure returns in all competitions over the last two campaigns.

So it is a shame to see the relationship that he'd built with the Ashton Gate crowd over the years largely sour this summer, with his future now clearly being away from BS3.

But to bag a cash return of £5m+ for a player who has made clear he no longer wants to play for the club, and whom the club could've lost for nothing next summer, should serve as a brilliant piece of business for Bristol City.

That cash injection could fund the permanent arrival of former loan star Scott Twine, a player whom Liam Manning is keen to see back in red next season.

Whilst for Middlesbrough, adding a player of Conway's quality to their forward ranks would give Carrick two top strikers to spearhead what they hope will be a promotion charge next season.

Boro's Ivorian international missed 16 league games last season through injury, and in the event of him missing a similar amount of time in 2024/25, having a player of Conway's class to turn to could ensure the goals don't dry up.

Conway also has the traits and profile to potentially be deployed as an inside forward too, which could mean Carrick could stick with his favoured lone striker approach with Latte Lath, and still get Conway in the starting lineup too.

Therefore, a deal for Conway between these two clubs should be seen as great business for both, in what would be one of the headline moves of the Championship's summer window.