Bristol City are weighing up a move for Nikita Haikin as they step up their search for Dan Bentley's replacement.
The Robins captain is joining Wolves for a nominal fee after entering the final six months of his contract in BS3. Bentley underwent his medical with the Premier League side on Wednesday and confirmation of his departure is likely to be made either today or on Thursday.
Following Stefan Bajic's loan deal to Valenciennes, Nigel Pearson said City would only sanction Bentley's transfer if they had a replacement lined up with Max O'Leary potentially left as the only senior keeper in the squad.
Haikin, 27, has been without a club since November when he departed Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt. They ended the Eliteserien in second, with Haikin featuring in 27 of their 30 matches.
He has also played in their Europa League campaigns where they shocked Roma and Celtic last season and lost to Arsenal on two occasions in October.
First reported by Norwegian outlet Nettavisen, journalist Stian Wahl wrote Haikin has "received an offer from Bristol City. If the final details fall into place and the parties reach full agreement, he will sign for the Championship club." Bristol Live understands that Haikin remains an option.
Linked with a move to Blackburn Rovers earlier in the window, Haikin was born in Israel to Russian parents but holds a British passport. He was part of the Dynamo Moscow youth team before having stints in the academies of Chelsea, Portsmouth and Reading while his progress was hampered by visa issues.
After failing to kickstart his career in England, he moved to Portuguese side Nacional and then Marbella before returning to Russia to play for Mordovia Saransk. Moves to FC Kuban, Bnei Yehuda and Hapoel Kfar Saba would follow in Israel before spending three years with Bodo/Glimt where he won the league title on two occasions.
He has also featured for Russia's youth sides from Under-16 to U21 level and has been named on the bench for the senior national set-up. Any potential deal is likely to be on a short-term contract until the end of the season, similar to Timm Klose's arrival 12 months ago, when the club can reassess their keeper department.
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