Manager is praying Rangers don’t sign his 8-goal striker as contract runs down.
As Scottish Premiership powerhouse Rangers put their hat in the ring for the free-scoring Scotland under-21 international, Bristol City is desperate to hang on to their FA Cup hero Tommy Conway.
Rangers are reportedly keeping an eye on a player who is creating a name for himself at Ashton Gate for the third time in as many months. However, the Tommy Conway discussion is just getting started after connections with Sam Bell and Zach Vyner ceased.
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 is undoubtedly a finisher. A goal scorer by nature, if you will.
Conway, who is still only 21 years old, made a big impression last season with nine goals despite missing a large portion of the season due to injury. That well-executed victory over West Ham was his seventh of 2023–2024.
After losing players like Antoine Semenyo, Alex Scott, Adam Webster, and others in recent transfer windows, Bristol City supporters may be afraid of losing another exciting young talent when his contract expires in just over a year due to rumours of interest from both sides of the border.
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
Conway, an England native with under-21 Scotland cap experience, was compared to Jamie Vardy by former Bristol City manager Nigel Pearson because of his propensity for making just the right runs in behind the defence.
Meanwhile, Manning believes the young player has just added another skill to his repertoire, with Conway showing significant growth in both his off-the-ball work and his front-runner pressuring.
The former Oxford manager continues, “I think that our front players being our first defenders is probably the biggest part of his game that’s improved.” We work a lot on their forms and positions; frequently, these are their second reactions; therefore, after you react and then move on to engage, it’s about regaining your place.
“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 knows when to pursue and uses his energy more effectively.”
Rangers had already strengthened their front line by bringing in Wolves’Fabio Silva on loan. The club has also received an offer for Emmanuel Dennis, Nottingham Forest’s £20 million forgotten man who played for Club Brugge in Belgium under Philippe Clement.
The former Oxford manager continues, “I think that our front players being our first defenders is probably the biggest part of his game that’s improved.” We work a lot on their forms and positions; frequently, these are their second reactions; therefore, after you react and then move on to engage, it’s about regaining your place.
“He did a great job and picked it up quickly.” When we watch the (West Ham) game again, there are a lot of instances where he almost gets away with hiking something or makes the keeper kick long, as opposed to when we first arrived, when he just chased everything.
“He knows when to pursue and uses his energy more effectively.”
Rangers had already strengthened their front line by bringing in Wolves’Fabio Silva on loan. The club has also received an offer for Emmanuel Dennis, Nottingham Forest’s £20 million forgotten man who played for Club Brugge in Belgium under Philippe Clement.
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