Bristol City are growing in confidence they will be able to complete a deal for Burnley defender Luke McNally before the transfer window closes tomorrow night, Bristol Live understands, with the centre-back likely to be the Robins' seventh and final addition of the summer.
City first declared their intentions to sign McNally during talks around Tommy Conway, with a swap for the 24-year-old and Scott Twine mooted, but a deal was unable to be concluded as the striker made clear his intentions were to join Middlesbrough.
After completing the signing of Scott Twine on August 16, and following a brief period of reassessment, City resumed discussions with the Clarets over McNally but their initial valuation of £3m proved a significant stumbling block.
City had Leicester City talent Ben Nelson lined up as an insurance policy in case negotiations totally broke down, not dissimilar to the decision to bring George Earthy to Ashton Gate from West Ham in light of frustration over Twine talks, while, as reported first by Football Insider, enquiries were made around Harry Darling's availabilty but swiftly rejected by Swansea City.
Darling earned his move to South Wales in 2022 after working under Manning at MK Dons but has started each of the Swans' three Championship fixtures this season so head coach Luke Williams is clearly against letting the 25-year-old leave, irrespective of what City were prepared to pay.
With Burnley keen to move McNally on after two years of little involvement and no indication he was part of Scott Parker’s plans at Turf Moor for 2024/25, further emphasised by the recent signings of Joe Worrall and Bashir Humphreys, a breakthrough in talks looks to have been reached.
Providing all goes according to plan before the 11pm deadline on Friday, McNally will follow Fally Mayulu, Yu Hirakawa, Sinclair Armstrong, Twine, Earthy and Marcus McGuane as players brought in over the last two months and the first in the defensive end of the pitch.
With concern over Rob Dickie’s hamstring injury sustained last weekend against Coventry City, plus questions on the durability of Kal Naismith and Rob Atkinson after both their seasons last term were wrecked by injury, McNally provides depth but significant quality.
Although his time at Burnley has been a disappointing one, following his move from Oxford United in 2022, playing just seven times for the Clarets, he’s made 60 appearances in the Championship while on loan at Coventry and Stoke City.
His partnership with Callum Doyle for the Sky Blues over the second half of the 2022/23 season was vitally important to their charge into the play-offs, while although the Potters had a desperately disappointing campaign last term, their defensive record was one of the fundamental reasons they remained in the division.
His hopeful arrival at Ashton Gate will now provide Manning with three specialised right-sided centre-backs for the season ahead alongside Dickie and Zak Vyner, to balance Naismith, Atkinson and Hayden Roberts on the left.
McNally would also become the sixth Irishman in the City squad, while he has familiar faces in the dressing room with Mark Sykes and McGuane teammates of his at Oxford during the 2021/22 League One campaign.
He played 90 minutes for Burnley on Wednesday night in their 2-0 Carabao Cup second round defeat to Premier League Wolves after two late appearances off the bench in two of the Clarets opening Championship fixtures so there should be no concerns over his match fitness.
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