Burnley: Bristol City face obstacle in Luke McNally pursuit | OneFootball

The Robins are hoping to get a deal over the line for McNally after securing Scott Twine's signature, but they face a key barrier.

Bristol City are currently heading the chase for Burnley centre-back Luke McNally.

That's according to Alan Nixon, who believes the two sides are yet to come to an agreement, with their valuations of the player differing at this stage.

The Robins have already struck an agreement with the Clarets this summer, with Scott Twine making a £3.75m permanent move back to Ashton Gate.

Twine thrived under Liam Manning at MK Dons - and the two could be a deadly combination again - this time in the Championship.

Tommy Conway may have left, but Manning's side have enjoyed a fairly successful transfer window so far, and could use the extra funds generated from the striker's sale to secure a deal for McNally, as well as Twine.

Fally Mayulu, Sinclair Armstrong and Yu Hirakawa have all come in to provide more firepower in attack - and George Earthy could also prove to be a good signing for the remainder of the 2024/25 season.

They are yet to make any additions in defence at this stage though - and Manning may be keen to address this area before the summer transfer window closes on August 30th.

Bristol City head chase for Luke McNally

Journalist Nixon believes the Robins are keen to secure McNally's signature and are keen to go back to the Clarets to strike a deal for the central defender.

However, there is a gap between the sides in terms of their valuations of the player, with Manning's side thought to value him at £2m.

Scott Parker's side are thought to be keen to raise around £3m for his signature though - and it remains to be seen whether the sides can come to an agreement.

One factor that could work in the Robins' favour is the number of centre-backs that the Clarets currently have on their books.

Dara O'Shea, Jordan Beyer, Hjalmar Ekdal, Ameen Al-Dakhil, Maxime Esteve, Hannes Delcroix, CJ Egan-Riley and McNally are all able to operate in central defence for Parker.

With the Lancashire side's boss usually playing with a back four, some of these central defenders will probably need to be offloaded before the transfer window shuts.

McNally is one player who is currently unlikely to feature much at Turf Moor during the 2024/25 campaign, even if a couple of their key central defenders leave in the next nine days.

During his time in Lancashire, he hasn't made many appearances.

Bristol City should feel confident of getting a deal done for Luke McNally

Stoke City is also thought to be a potential destination for the player - and the defender could benefit from heading back to a familiar setting.

However, McNally and Twine will know each other from their time together at Turf Moor.

And with Conway's sale in mind, the Robins should be confident of getting a deal over the line for the central defender.

They may be £1m apart in their valuations of the player still, but that isn't an insurmountable total.

And they could potentially offload another central defender if he comes in, which could free up some more money if needed.