Jon Lansdown reveals Bristol City's Scott Twine transfer position and talks summer recruitment

Bristol City chairman Jon Lansdown admits the Robins will explore the possibility of signing Scott Twine on a permanent deal as the club look to do the bulk of their summer business early, but has indicated they are slightly bound by Burnley’s ongoing Premier League relegation battle.

Twine scored his second goal for City in Saturday's 2-0 win over Rotherham United after arriving on loan from the Clarets in January, but his game time has been limited to just nine appearances due to a quad injury sustained on his debut against Watford.

However, his form in recent weeks has helped cement head coach Liam Manning’s belief that bringing the playmaker to Ashton Gate long-term would help solve a significant need in terms of the Robins’ overall creativity in the final third.

After Alex Scott’s £25million sale to Bournemouth last summer, City operated throughout the season without a natural and orthodox No10 with Jason Knight, Anis Mehmeti, Mark Sykes, Taylor Gardner-Hickman and Sam Bell among those filling in, with varying results.

But Twine gives the team an obvious attacking focal point, coupled with his individual qualities. Manning made it clear on Saturday he’d like to continue working with the 24-year-old but the Wiltshire-born midfielder still has two years remaining on his contract at Turf Moor, while exactly what division Burnley will be competing in next season is unclear.

Vincent Kompany’s side are 19th in the Premier League, two points from safety and with matches against Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur and Nottingham Forest remaining, and with the season not concluding until May 19, their own planning for the summer and beyond may have to wait, leaving City hanging to a certain extent.

“Scott’s done well for us when we’ve managed to get him on the pitch and would be a good fit in that sense but, at the same time, it’s finding out what’s the viability of that?” Lansdown told BBC Radio Bristol. “He’s obviously at a club and we don’t know where his club is going to be next season yet, and for us, we know we like the player and what he brings, it’s what does it cost and where does that fit? It’s the same with anyone.

“He’s done well, he’s obviously worked with Liam before and has been a positive influence on the squad; all of those boxes are ticked, it’s just where it fits in with everything else and whether it’s feasible or not. It’s something we’ll obviously explore, along with everything else, because it is a position we need.”

Twine forms one part of City’s recruitment plans for the summer as they look to add quality in the final third with technical director Brian Tinnion and Manning also keen for a striker in a different mould to current frontline forwards Tommy Conway and Nahki Wells.

Although the possibility of securing a deal for Twine remains uncertain, Lansdown appears optimistic that moves can be made in the earlier phases of the window, as has been the case in previous summers. In 2022, Kane Wilson, Kal Naismith and Mark Sykes were secured before pre-season began, while last year the Robins had confirmed Rob Dickie, Ross McCrorie and Haydon Roberts by mid-June.

“We’ve already had contacts, had conversations and we’ll be looking to get things rolling as soon as possible,” Lansdown added.

“You never know quite when things are going to happen timing-wise, and obviously you have to wait for windows and things to actually happen but that doesn’t mean you can’t have conversations and get things moving beforehand. So we’ll certainly be looking to do that but it’s not a huge amount of turnover we need, so it’s probably the same as we’ve done previously and hopefully have a couple coming in early.”

Burnley’s asking price for Twine prior to the January window was £5m, a figure City weren’t willing to pay then, hence why they settled on a loan arrangement instead, and may not be open to spending now, irrespective of his fit, given budgets and needs elsewhere in attack.

Hypothetically-speaking, should their primary business be Twine/another playmaker plus a striker, the fees spent on one can not drastically be taken away from the other to the point it prevents that deal from happening, so a balance will need to be struck.

Lansdown hinted that City are in a stronger position that many of their rivals, though, due to their preparation, and the attractiveness of signing for the club but also, potentially, because they’re in a financial position where they don’t necessarily have to sell to buy.

“We’ve got our budgets, the same as everyone else, so we’ll look to work within it but we’re not rigid to it,” Lansdown said. “I think we showed last summer, we did quite a lot of business before any outgoing which was quite a risk in a sense but that puts you in a position where, if you are able to move early when you’ve identified targets and they want to come here, it really helps because most clubs aren’t in that position.

“So having this place as an attraction in terms of where these players are going to live and learn their trade is a real attraction, and having the stability and certainty of that is a real attraction as well. Same as your coach who’s going to develop you, there are lots of attractions of being here, it’s not always the biggest, shiniest transfer fee or age - and that’s not saying we’re not going to pay some fees - for me, it’s the full thing that’s important and about finding the right fit.

“I don’t think I’m talking out of turn if I say we want more attacking options. But that comes in a huge variety of different things, and it’s a difficult area of the pitch to look at but we’re very focused in terms of what we know we need and what we’re looking for so therefore we can hopefully do similar to what we’ve done certainly last season and previous seasons and try and get our work done early and get that squad up together.

“It’s never we have to spend this much or not spend this much, it’s profile of the player in terms of how does that fit within your squad - the age profile, the wages that come with it and the potential to grow, because we want players who we can improve and who can improve us with them.

“It’s not necessarily a particular type in the sense of, we’re looking in this market here for this age group and whatever else, but we’re looking for qualities and then we’ve got a really good recruitment team and it’s focused in terms of knowing what we need from those attributes and where to look and then we’ll be looking for value and people that fit what we’re looking for.”

SIGN UP: For our daily Robins newsletter, bringing you the latest from Ashton Gate