Bristol City in talks to sign 12-goal European striker following Fally Mayulu deal | OneFootball

The Dinamo striker rejected multiple opportunities to sign for Forest in the past, and could be on the move this summer.

Bristol City have held talks over a potential move for Dinamo Zagreb striker Sandro Kulenovic.

That is according to a report from Bristol Live, who claim that the 24-year-old could be on his way to Ashton Gate in the near future.

The Robins are undergoing a revamp to their striking department this summer, with forward Fally Mayulu recently signing a four-year deal with the club, whilst Tommy Conway's future appears to be away from Ashton Gate.

Liam Manning's side are also set to sign Japanese winger Yu Hirakawa on an initial loan deal, with a view to it becoming a permanent addition further down the line, proving that they are going very international with their recruitment this summer.

It doesn't appear the club are done there either, as this new report suggests Manning has his eyes set on signing another striker, ahead of what could be an exciting season ahead.

According to a report from Bristol Live, Bristol City have held talks with Dinamo Zagreb over a possible move for Kulenovic.

The report states that a deal for the 24-year-old is not thought to be close at this present time, but the club do harbour hope that an agreement can be reached for the former Croatian youth international.

In what may prove as an example of the coup his signature would be, and the potential difficulty the Robins face in securing it, Kulenovic was close to joining Premier League side Nottingham Forest last summer, before rejecting the opportunity to sign for them.

Speaking in an interview via Nottinghamshire Live at the time of that proposed transfer to Forest, the former Juventus academy prospect said: "If I’m going to leave Dinamo, the team must be at the top level. Nottingham doesn’t mean much to me.”

A £2.5m fee was reportedly agreed by Dinamo Zagreb for the tall striker to sign for Forest back in 2021, but with just one year remaining on his contract with the Croatian champions, it can be expected that his value will have fallen.

Sandro Kulenovic would be risky addition for the Robins

Kulenovic has proven himself to be a pretty reliable source of goals in recent times as he has notched double-digit goalscoring returns in three consecutive seasons, in all competitions.

Seven of his 11 goals last season came in the Croatian top-flight, as he helped Dinamo to their seventh consecutive league title.

Kulenovic also made eight appearances in the Europa Conference League, in what is a sign of the type of pedigree he would bring to Ashton Gate.

But his performances have yet to earn him senior international recognition, as he continues to wait for his opportunity to represent Croatia's senior side.

That could be seen as somewhat of a red flag, as he's been plying his trade on home soil for the last five seasons, in as close a view as possible to his national team decision makers.

Combine that with his rather brazen comments as he shrugged off a Premier League move to Nottingham Forest, declaring he would only leave for a 'top level club', do bring into question whether his attitude would be a potential detriment to the dressing room.

And frankly, it would surely be a contradictory move by Kulenovic to then sign for a Championship club rather than a Premier League one.

So for a club like City who are trying to build something under Manning, they need to be securing the signatures of recruits who are committed to seeing through a potentially multiple-season-long project, that culminates in delivering a squad ready to win Premier League promotion in a couple of seasons' time perhaps.

Therefore, Bristol City may be better served finding a striker who wouldn't appear to bring a potentially sizeable amount of baggage with them to Ashton Gate, but if Manning can manage his attitude, then it could be a coup.