City keen for ‘fantastic’ Conway to pen new deal
BRISTOL City hope to open fresh contract talks with Tommy Conway in the coming weeks with the Robins striker now in the final 18 months of his agreement at Ashton Gate and attracting attention from elsewhere.
Conway has scored eight goals in 25 appearances for City this season after sustaining a hamstring injury in August that robbed him of the first two months of 2023/24. His output follows on from his 12 goals in 37 games during his breakout season last term, and with at least 17 games of the season remaining, he is on course to match that total.
At 21, and with high-profile goals against West Ham in the FA Cup, any secret around Conway is firmly out and there have been speculative links to Rangers and Celtic due to a status as a Scotland Under-21 international, while various Premier League clubs have naturally been monitoring his progress.
As it stands, if Conway reaches the summer without agreeing new terms, City will essentially be forced to sell as opposed to losing him for minimal compensation in 12 months when he will become a free agent.
Speaking to BBC Radio Bristol, technical director Brian Tinnion stated the club are doing all they can to get the Taunton-born forward to commit beyond 2025.
“Tommy Conway has a year in the summer and we need to try to get him tied down, and we’ll work really hard on that,” Tinnion said. “But apart from Tommy and the three lads, we have everyone contracted in a really stable squad.
“We’ve had the conversations with the agent and (we want) to have those conversations, and with Tommy, again. We want Tommy Conway contracted to the club. He’s a fantastic person, he’s a fantastic player, he’s a goalscorer and he’s really important to us, so we’ll be working really hard from now to get Tommy contracted to the club.”
The “three lads” Tinnion refers to are midfielders Joe Williams, Matty James and Andy King, who are all on expiring contracts and, unlike Conway, no talks are understood to have taken place over extending their agreements beyond the summer.
James and Williams have been first-team regulars this season, under Manning and predecessor Nigel Pearson, with the latter playing some of his best football in a red and white shirt, and while King has been on the periphery of the starting XI, remains an influential figure in the dressing room.
James and Williams have been on record to say they would love to stay in BS3, and Tinnion has indicated their future is in their hands to an extent, providing they continue to play at a level and remain fit.
Both have experienced injury issues during their respective times at City, but with James ranked fifth in the squad for Championship minutes this season (2,263) and
Williams 11th (1,568), they have displayed their durability up to this point.
“They’re obviously playing for their futures,” Tinnion added. “We haven’t had those conversations with those players yet, so there’s 18-19 games left to really show how good (they are). Joe’s been fantastic since Liam’s come into the building. He’s got a real confidence about him and he’s playing in every game, and there are no injury issues.”
City play Nottingham Forest in an FA Cup fourth round replay tonight.
Port Vale first-team coach David Dunn has followed manager Andy Crosby out of the door at Vale Park, with a trio of academy coaches to take charge on an interim basis.
Crosby, who succeeded Darrell Clarke at Vale Park, was sacked on Monday after less than a year in the job. Assistant John Schofield also left on Monday, with Will Ryder, Matt Done and Danny Lloyd moving up from the academy to take charge.
Bristol Rovers and Cheltenham Town were both in action last night – after the deadline.