Bristol City are considering a loan move for Leicester City centre-back Ben Nelson before Friday’s transfer deadline, Bristol Live understands, as Robins head coach Liam Manning looks to reinforce his defence for the 2024/25 season.
Manning has long been conscious that while City are strong in terms of personnel in defence, with Rob Dickie and Zak Vyner as his starting duo and Kal Naismith, Hayden Roberts and the fit-again Rob Atkinson as cover, plus right-back George Tanner as further cover, there is an element of risk within this group.
Although Naismith was involved throughout pre-season and has played 129 minutes this term across all three fixtures, hasn’t started a game in the Championship since November last year due to calf and hamstring injuries and has made 23 and nine league starts in his two seasons at the club.
Atkinson’s senior absence has been even longer, dating back to his ACL sustained in February 2023 followed by hamstring and then groin issues during his recovery over the last eight months. The defender has trained with the first-team since last week and played 45 minutes for the Under-21s on Monday in a 2-0 win over Crewe Alexandra but there is understandable concern around his durability for the campaign ahead.
Naismith, Atkinson and the talented Roberts are all left-sided centre-back options as well, leaving City potentially exposed on the right should any serious problems beset Vyner or Dickie, a point highlighted by the latter’s hamstring injury sustained against Coventry City on Saturday.
How long the 28-year-old will be out for is unclear, but Manning has long coveted another option in that part of the field and Nelson is an option for the Robins with Steve Cooper keen to send the England Under-20 international out to earn some game time and hopefully accelerate his development.
Nelson has a degree of EFL experience having made 11 appearances for the Foxes last season in the Championship, FA Cup, League Cup and EFL Trophy and played 27 games on loan for League Two sides Rochdale and Doncaster Rovers during 2023/23.
The tall and technicall-skilled centre-back is one of the most highly-rated prospects in the Leicester squad but with four players ahead of him in his position, and the unforgiving environment of the Premier League perhaps not right for development at this moment in time, he seems set to leave the King Power Stadium on a temporary basis.
When asked about potential exits before Friday, Cooper told Leicestershire Live : “Loans are an important part of development. There are some players we see playing for us in the future, in the first team, who we think a loan would be the right thing for them. We always make these decisions on what’s right for the player.
“We don’t want to keep players with us to make up numbers. You have to have cover and strength in depth, but if they’re here for strength in depth, it means you’re happy for them to play in the team.
“We’ll make some good decisions on what we do with some of the young players and the loans they have or don’t have. Sometimes it’s right to not send them on loan and instead keep them in training and develop them internally.”
City’s preference had been to sign Luke McNally from Burnley, having first opened talks for the 24-year-old during the process to sell Tommy Conway, but the Clarets continue to stand form in their valuation of the Irishman.
Burnley paid less than £2m for him two years ago from Oxford United, McNally has made just one start for them and spent the last 18 months on loan at Coventry and Stoke City, but his price tag is in the £3m bracket which is simply too much for City to justifying paying considering the players they already have in that area of the pitch and his likely wage expectations, nor is it reflective of his status in Scott Parker’s squad.
McNally has featured twice off the bench late in games this season but with Burnley signing centre-backs Joe Worrall and Bashir Humphreys over the last week, he appears surplus to requirements at Turf Moor and they are seeking a buyer before Friday.
However, similar to their pursuit of Scott Twine, the Robins don’t want negotiations to run too late in the window causing them to miss out on potential alternatives. That brings Nelson into focus with the 20-year-old offering a short-term solution but with sufficient ability and attributes to step into the City defence and bring something extra to the squad.
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