Rangers are reportedly on ‘red alert’ as one of their attacking targets potentially heads towards the exit this summer.
And so they should be. Rangers, reportedly one of the clubs at the front of the queue for the contract-rebel centre-forward, are dipping their toes into a very nourashing resevoir of talent, many of Tommy Conway‘s former team-mates and predecessors going on to much bigger things after leaving the Bristol City pond.
Alex Scott, Adam Webster, Antoine Semenyo, Bobby DeCordova-Reid and the Newcastle United-bound Lloyd Kelly are all Premier League regulars these days.
Conway, meanwhile, could be playing Champions League football if he plays his cards right. The Bristol Post report that Rangers and Old Firm rivals Celtic are jostling for position as the race for his signature heats up.
Rangers and Celtic in Tommy Conway battle
Much to the frustration of a Bristol City fanbase who have watched Conway develop so impressively over the last two seasons, the 21-year-old poacher looks likely to have played his final game for the Championship outfit.
Conway’s contract expires next summer, and there is a reluctance from his camp to sign a new one.
As such, The Robins are open to offers, even if they would like to keep him in their nest for now. There is an acceptance that – if Bristol City are to get anything like maximum value – Conway will have to be sold now rather than in 2025, when he could head north of the border for the sort of minimal compensation fee Rangers paid to bring in Joe Aribo, for example.
The one-time Charlton youngster set The Gers back just £300,000.
The Bristol Post believe that, if Conway goes now, he will net Liam Manning’s side a seven-figure fee. Should he catch the eye at this summer’s European Championships – called up by Steven Clarke last week following Lyndon Dykes’ injury – it is not beyond the realms of possibility that Conway could be sold for a fee between £5 and £8 million.
There is interest from Wolverhampton Wanderers too. Rangers usually struggle to compete with Premier League clubs in financial matters, but Financial Fair Play concerns may prevent Wolves from making the sort of offer that would blow their rivals out of the water.
Scotland international an option for Ibrox side
“Talk about Tommy going? Tommy’s still got a year on his contract, so it has to be not just Tommy’s decision,” Manning told the Bristol Post in April. “But if he decides (to leave), it has to work for the club as well. And while I’m here, the priority will always be looking after this football club.
“We’re doing everything we can to try and keep him. I think I’ve shown in how much I pick him, how well he’s doing and what I think of him.
“I said it the other day, he’s in the perfect place for his career where he’s going to get coached, he’s going to get stretched and he’s going to get opportunities.”
Conway has been likened to Jamie Vardy due to his sharp movement off the shoulder of opposition defenders. He has scored 12 goals in each of his two seasons as a first-team regular at Bristol City, including the winner which knocked West Ham United out of the FA Cup last term.
Rangers are also in talks to bring in Albion Rrahmani from Rapid Bucharest. Conway’s Scottish roots would make him a popular addition amongst the Ibrox support, however, even if Philippe Clement and Nils Koppen seem to prefer to do their business abroad.
New Rotherham United boss Steve Evans, meanwhile, is urging his beloved Celtic to make a move of their own for Conway. The last player Evans recomended to The Hoops didn’t do too badly; a certain Matt O’Riley.
“The last player I recommended Celtic should sign, when I got a call from the manager, was the boy who went from MK Dons who’s now worth multi-millions,” Evans says, via Yahoo Sport.
“If you’re asking me, could Conway play at Celtic? Absolutely. Get in the car and go today, he could play there.
“He might want to go to Celtic. But you can’t (let him). He’s a gifted boy. He’s a really good player, first and foremost.”
