Bristol City targeting move for Leicester City player | OneFootball

The Robins are eyeing a move for Ben Nelson, who could potentially be available for a loan move to Ashton Gate.

Bristol City are interested in a loan swoop for Leicester City centre-back Ben Nelson.

According to James Piercy, the Championship club have been keen to bring in a central defender for a while, and they could potentially add Nelson to their squad to address an area that they have been wanting to.

A lot of the Robins' transfer business has been focused on their attack this summer - and this has been much-needed - with Tommy Conway recently sealing a move to Middlesbrough.

Fally Mayulu, Sinclair Armstrong and Yu Hirakawa should all be real assets in the final third, along with Scott Twine, who has sealed a permanent move to Ashton Gate.

George Earthy and Marcus McGuane have also joined, with the latter able to sit in front of the defence and have a big impact on a game from central midfield, though it remains to be seen whether he will be able to make the step up to the second tier successfully.

However, their work may not be done, with Liam Manning's side seemingly keen to strengthen their centre-back area.

They may have some money left to spend following the sale of Conway, but they can also use the loan market heavily, something they were reluctant to do under their former boss Nigel Pearson.

After securing Twine's signature, it looked as though the Robins were going to re-enter negotiations with Burnley to sign Luke McNally.

Alan Nixon recently reported that the Robins were prepared to spend £2m on McNally, but that was £1m away from the Clarets' valuation of the defender, who has barely featured at Turf Moor since his move there in 2022.

Whether they will launch a bid that comes closer to Scott Parker's side's asking price for the player remains to be seen, but they seem to have an alternative target in mind.

Bristol City eyeing Ben Nelson move

It has now been reported by Bristol Live journalist Piercy that the Robins are keen to bring in a central defender - and that Nelson is one of their targets.

Nelson appeared for the Foxes' first team last season, but wasn't exactly one of the first names on the teamsheet and he probably won't win too much game time this term either.

With the Midlands side being promoted at the end of last term, a loan move away from the King Power Stadium could be the ideal outcome for Nelson between now and the end of the summer transfer window.

Bristol City may need to offer Ben Nelson and Leicester City key assurance

Nelson needs game time at this important stage of his career.

Substitute appearances won't be enough at this stage - he needs to start regularly.

If the Robins are willing to offer him regular starts, Ashton Gate could be an excellent temporary move for the central defender.

However, if they can't guarantee him a decent amount of game time, Nelson needs to be looking to find an alternative club.

There's no point in him sitting on the bench at Ashton Gate, because he could do that at his current side.