Bristol City have opened talks with QPR over defender Rob Dickie and are set to complete a move for Aberdeen’s Ross McCrorie next week, as the Robins' summer recruitment operation kicks into action.
Football Insider detailed on Friday evening that Dickie has emerged as a summer target for Nigel Pearson and Bristol Live understands that report to be accurate with initial discussions having been productive. Furthermore, McCrorie is due for a medical at the High Performance Centre early next week ahead of concluding his switch from the Scottish Premiership club for a fee in the region of £2m.
City’s interest in the 25-year-old first emerged in April but the club have been monitoring his development for more than 12 months prior to that and they have beaten off a number of their Championship rivals, including Norwich City and West Brom, to secure the versatile midfielder/defender.
McCrorie played Aberdeen's final two fixtures of their season, against St Mirren and Celtic, after recovering from a hernia operation and has spent the last week on holiday in Dubai.
He could well be joined at Ashton Gate by centre-back Dickie with City making an opportunistic and clever move to try and bring the 27-year-old down the M4 after a challenging campaign for QPR.
After an outstanding first two seasons in West London, where he was named the club’s Player of the Year in 2020/21, Dickie’s confidence has suffered in his third campaign amid a tumultuous time for the club in which three different head coaches have been in charge.
With a year remaining on his contract at Loftus Road, City will test the Rs with a bid in what is likely to be the last transfer window in which they can receive a substantial amount for Dickie, albeit with his value having decreased after a mixed 2022/23.
A move to BS3 would also reunite Dickie with former Oxford United colleague Rob Atkinson, although the pair never played together for the Us in a competitive game with the latter loaned out to Eastleigh Town shortly after signing, and by the time he made his debut, the former had moved to QPR.
Dickie boasts 129 appearances in the Championship and should make a seamless transition into City’s defensive unit alongside Atkinson, Zak Vyner and possibly Tomas Kalas, should contract talks with the Czech international prove successful.
At 6ft4ins and confident on the ball, he very much fits the mould of what Pearson wants from his centre-backs and he plots a play-off push for the club in 2023/24.
Central defence is a primary area of need for the Robins this summer with their 2022/23 campaign blighted by a lack of depth in the position. Crystal Palace’s Jake O’Brien is also on the Robins radar although it’s unclear, at this stage, whether a move for Dickie means they will also try and sign the Republic of Ireland Under-21 international.
Left-back Joe Bryan remains another target of the Robins but discussions are said to be at a delicate stage and with Nice’s Ligue 1 season concluding on Saturday night against Lyon a resolution is expected to be reached shortly with his contract at Fulham expiring at the end of this month.
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