Bristol City’s attempts to bring Joe Bryan back to Ashton Gate have ended as the out-of-contract left-back has indicated he wants to continue playing overseas, Bristol Live understands.
Bryan is set to be released by Fulham on June 30, when his contract at Craven Cottage expires, and last month City made an early, persuasive and financially-appealing pitch for the 29-year-old to return to the West Country.
There was a belief within the club and an assurance from the Bryan camp that he had chosen them ahead of a host of Championship rivals, but the prospect of offers from beyond the UK - with a degree of interest emerging in America - has ended such optimism and led the Robins to move on.
Despite his lack of game time while on loan at Nice in Ligue 1, Bryan has largely enjoyed his spell in the south of France and having sampled living outside of England is keen to continue playing abroad, especially as he's now a free agent and in his late 20s and such an opportunity may not come around again.
The collapse in talks has slight echoes of when Bryan left City in 2018 as a deal was agreed with Aston Villa and a medical booked, only for the defender to change his mind and sign for Premier League Fulham.
As a result, City have pivoted to other targets and Haydon Roberts should be confirmed as a new Robins player this week having visited the High Performance Centre on Monday to meet with manager Nigel Pearson.
Roberts will follow centre-back Rob Dickie, after his move from QPR, while Aberdeen's Ross McCrorie is due to undergo a medical in Failand on Tuesday ahead of his switch. All three moves significantly bolster Pearson's options in defence and full-back.
Roberts' expected arrival does raise doubts over whether City will make another approach for AFC Wimbledon's Jack Currie after unsuccessful attempts to sign him in January. However, it has been suggested that the Robins could still try and sign a specialist left-back to provide competition for Cam Pring as Roberts can also operate as a left-sided centre-back.
The 21-year-old was largely deployed at left wing-back during his season on loan at Derby County in League One but has spent much of his youth-team career and development in the middle of defence.
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