City look to shape squad of the future
BRISTOL City are finalising their plans for some 10 academy players beyond the current campaign.
The Western Daily’s sister website Bristol Live understands that the Robins have released at least seven players after talks at the end of last week with their young professional players.
The outfit have decided to not offer new terms to Opi Edwards, Vince Harper, Lochlan Robertson, Freddie Hinds, Aden Baldwin, Brad Webb, Zac Smith, who will all leave the club this coming summer.
Edwards finishes a two-year deal and is regarded as a surprising decision given that the player was favoured by Dean Holden, the previous head coach. Indeed, Edwards was due to start at right wing-back against Luton Town at Kenilworth Road this season, until a calf injury in the final training session ruled him out of the game and subsequent few months. The 21-year-old former Bristol Inner City Football Academy student, made his debut in the FA Cup under Lee Johnson in 2018 and has appeared four times in the league this campaign.
New manager Nigel Pearson has elected to go for experience however, recruiting former Premier League winner Danny Simpson for the final eight games of the campaign and possibly beyond.
The versatile Edwards has spent time on loan at Bath City and Torquay United and will leave having progressed all the way through the City academy ranks.
Meanwhile, the club are also releasing Vince Harper, who interested Scunthorpe United earlier this season, and who is being monitored by the Kenyan national side. Harper was tipped to compete at left-back but City’s large number of players in that position, with Cameron Pring doing well on loan at Portsmouth earlier this season and George Nurse at Walsall too.
The Robins have offered a new contract to Barney Soady and will retain one young full-back. The club are also in the process of offering Harvey Wiles-Richards a new contract as well as striker Louis Britton, although Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Bromwich Albion were linked with the U23s forward.