Bristol City closing in on Plymouth Argyle star in blockbuster £4m+ transfer | OneFootball

It appears the Robins may have moved on from Dom Ballard and on to another League One talisman...

Bristol City have ushered in a new era this summer with the appointment of Lincoln City manager Michael Skubala at Ashton Gate - and it looks as though they mean business.

It's not only League One title-winning boss Skubala that is a new face to arrive at the Robins this summer, with a new sporting director in place at the club in the form of James Ellis, who includes clubs like Arsenal, Fulham and Birmingham on his working résumé - and he also worked with Skubala at Loughborough University's football team.

And in the early weeks of the summer transfer window, Bristol City have certainly been active in trying to strengthen their squad, having finished middle of the pack in 12th position in the Championship last season - a backwards step from their play-off finish in 2024-25 under Liam Manning.

CIty have splashed the cash on Wigan Athletic goalkeeper Sam Tickle, Volendam midfielder GIbson Yah, Maccabi Haifa centre-back Lisav Eissat and English attacking midfielder Sam Greenwood, whilst also landing the experience of Jed Wallace on a free transfer - and they do not intend to stop there.

Bristol City on the verge of sealing Lorent Tolaj transfer

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In recent week, Bristol City's pursuit of Leyton Orient talisman Dom Ballard has been pretty evident, with the Robins having bids turned down for the 23-goal striker, with Alan Nixon claiming that a second bid in the range of £3 million plus add-ons was snubbed by the O's earlier this month.

And it now appears that their attentions are turning away from ex-Southampton starlet Ballard and onto another League One striker that Skubala will know very well in the form of Plymouth Argyle's Lorent Tolaj.

The Daily Mail have reported that City are in talks with the Pilgrims to sign the Swiss forward, with a fee of £4 million and add-ons being offered for a player who found the back of the net 21 times in all competitions in 2025-26 following his £1.2 million switch from Port Vale.

And it looks as though Skubala and Ellis are closing in on their new target, with Pete O'Rourke reporting that a deal has been agreed now between the two clubs, with Tolaj set for a medical with Bristol City within the next 48 hours, where he will battle with last summer's free transfer signing Emil Riis for a starting spot.

Lorent Tolaj news is a huge blow for Plymouth Argyle and Tom Cleverley

Despite Plymouth boss Tom Cleverley insisting that the club do not need to cash in on Tolaj or his striker partner Bim Pepple this summer, it does now look like the Devon outfit are set to lose at least one of them.

Tolaj has had a rapid rise through the leagues after failing to make the grade at Brighton - the 24-year-old had pretty disappointing loan stints at Cambridge United, Salford City and Dundee, but a permanent move to Aldershot Town in the National League in 2023 clearly lit a fuse under the forward, who has gone from strength-to-strength ever since.

With 18 goals in just 33 League One outings last season (one of those goals came at Port Vale), which included eight assists too, Tolaj had a huge impact at Home Park - but it appears that it will be just a one and done season for the European attacker.

If Cleverley is given some of those funds to strengthen his attacking unit, then cashing in on Tolaj for the fee that they're set to recieve won't be the worst deal in the world for Plymouth, but failure to acquire an adequate successor could really harm the Pilgrims' League One promotion chances.