Bristol City are desperate to keep their FA Cup hero Tommy Conway as Scottish Premiership giants Rangers throw their hat into the ring for the free-scoring Scotland under 21 international.
For the third time in the space of a few months, Rangers are reported to be keeping tabs on a player making his name at Ashton Gate. But, after links with Sam Bell and Zak Vyner went quiet, the Tommy Conway talk is only just beginning.
Rangers, according to Football Insider’s Peter O’Rourke, have joined Old Firm rivals Celtic – as well as a number of Premier League clubs – for a striker who scored the only goal of the game as Bristol City knocked West Ham United out of the FA Cup in this week’s third-round replay.
Rangers like Bristol City striker Tommy Conway
He’s certainly a finisher. A natural-born goalscorer, if you will.
Still only 21, Conway burst onto the scene with nine goals last season, despite spending much of the campaign out through injury. That well-taken West Ham winner was his eighth of 2023/24.
And, with his contract due to expire in just over a year from now, rumours of interest from both sides of the border may have Bristol City supporters fearing the departure of another exciting young talent, having already lost the likes of Antoine Semenyo, Alex Scott, Adam Webster and more in recent windows.
Rangers are reporetdly keen on Conway’s Ashton Gate team-mate, the left-back Cameron Pring, too.
“Definitely, from our end, we really want him to stay,” Robins coach Liam Manning tells Bristol World. “He’s in a really good place, I think. If you look since I’ve come in, the number of games he’s started, even in a sticky period, we stuck by him.
“I think he sees the culture. He’s clear on how we work and that’s the big thing. We want people who are all in on what we want to do, so he’s definitely someone we want to keep at the club.”
Likened to Jamie Vardy
England-born but capped by Scotland at under-21 level, Conway was likened to Jamie Vardy by former Bristol City manager Nigel Pearson due to his penchant for making well-timed runs in behind the backline.
Manning, meanwhile, feels the youngster has added another string to his bow of late, Conway making big improvements with regards to his off-the-ball work and his pressing from the front.
“It’s probably the biggest part of his game that’s improved for me, in terms of our front players being our first defenders,” adds the former Oxford boss. “We do a lot of work on shape and positions they take up, quite often it’s those second reactions, so once you react and then go and engage it’s about recovering back in.
“He’s done a terrific job, grasped it really quickly. Watching the (West Ham) game back, there are numerous opportunities where he’s close to hiking things or he forces the goalkeeper to kick long, rather than when we first came in he just chased everything.
“He understands when to chase, and is more efficient with his energy.”
Rangers have already boosted their frontline with the loan signing of Fabio Silva from Wolves. Emmanuel Dennis, Nottingham Forest’s £20 million forgotten man, has been offered to the club too, having played under Philippe Clement at Club Brugge in Belgium.
