City hunt ex-Foxes duo, Lansbury joins Hatters

within that department, raising standards and maintain a sense of professionalism across the club.

King, a schoolboy Bristol City fan from a family of Robins supporters, has 414 professional appearances under his belt and has been capped 50 times by Wales.

Pearson’s early activity has been very much to mimic the Leicester copybook with King preceded by full-back Simpson, who is expected to agree a new contract, and head of medical Dave Rennie.

However, he can also cite the example of King at Huddersfield with former Terriers manager Danny

Cowley raving about the sense of calm King brought to the pitch, but also his impact off the field.

“Andy brings real experience,” Cowley said in July 2020. “He brings calmness and composure to us.

“He played 49 or 50 passes in the game, all of them successfully, and his use of the ball was really good. So he brings real knowledge and tactical intelligence to the team.”

Coventry, meanwhile, are not giving up hope in their pursuit of out-of-contract James but, as it stands, City remain the most likely destination for the 29-year-old.

The Sky Blues are apparently struggling to compete with the financial package being offered by

City, plus the draw for the midfielder of working under Pearson again.

Elsewhere, Luton boss Nathan Jones referenced Henri Lansbury’s performance against the Hatters in April after bringing the midfielder to Kenilworth Road following the expiry of his Bristol City contract.

Former Arsenal and Aston Villa midfielder Lansbury, left, was one of the 11 first-team players released by City at the end of 2020/21.

Jones said of Lansbury: “He was instrumental in Bristol City’s first half performance against us recently, when we were 2-0 down at half-time and managed to turn it around. We want his quality, and we know he is going to bring that.”