Bristol City have completed the signing of Ross McCrorie from Aberdeen for a package worth up to £2million with the versatile midfielder flying to join up with the Scotland squad a few hours after penning a contract in the West Country.
McCrorie underwent a medical at the High Performance Centre on Tuesday and has signed a three-year contract with the option of an additional 12 months, the same length of deal as Rob Dickie agreed just 24 hours earlier.
The 25-year-old was presented as a new City player on the Ashton Gate roof and has since flown to Spain to be part of Steve Clarke’s Scotland squad ahead of their Euro 2024 qualifiers against Norway and Georgia later this month. He will be able to introduce himself to one of his Robins teammates as Under-21 international Tommy Conway has been training with the senior squad.
McCrorie enjoyed three seasons with Aberdeen, making 115 appearances across a variety of positions and is capable of performing as a defensive midfielder, right wing-back, right back and on the right hand side of defence. He does have some experience of English football having spent the 2019/20 campaign on loan from Rangers at League One Portsmouth.
“There is ambition at the club to progress, and for myself, it’s a new challenge and I think it's a good fit," McCrorie told bcfc.co.uk. “The team is aggressive, plays on the front foot and I like playing in a team that plays that way - it was a big factor in coming to the club.
“I’ve met some of the staff and they've been great. They’ve made me feel welcome from the minute I walked in the building and I'm just really looking forward to getting started.”
After paying less than £1m up front for Dickie as he entered the final year of his contract, City have invested more in McCrorie - whose deal with the Dons ran until 2025 - but the total fee of around £2m is heavily incentivised and dependent on a number of factors.
City are understood to have beaten a number of their Championship rivals for the signature of the 25-year-old, including Norwich City and West Brom.
With Dickie and McCrorie signed for the 2023/24 Championship campaign and beyond, City have made two significant moves in the market ahead of many of their competitors and successfully boosted Nigel Pearson’s defensive options.
That duo are expected to be followed by out-of-contract Brighton & Hove Albion defender Haydon Roberts who was in Bristol on Monday and should be confirmed as a Robins player this week.
As reported by Bristol Live, the Robins' attempts to bring Joe Bryan back to the club have ended after the 29-year-old indicated he wanted to pursue opportunities outside of the UK.
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