"Don’t think he has the ability" - Bristol City surprise issued at 29-year-old not departing Ashton Gate | OneFootball

FLW's Robins' fan pundit was surprised to see Cornick stay at the club this summer

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Versatile Bristol City forward Harry Cornick has struggled for game-time this season so far after numerous new arrivals in attack, and it will have come as a surprise to many that he stayed at the club past this summer.

Cornick joined the Robins in January 2023 on a three-and-a-half year deal from Luton Town, with many expecting him to play a key role at Ashton Gate after five-and-a-half successful years with the Hatters, but things have not gone particularly as he would have planned so far.

He has made over 60 appearances for City since his arrival, but has struggled to ever nail down a consistent starting berth either on the wing or up-front under respective bosses Nigel Pearson and Liam Manning.

The 29-year-old has seen his time on the pitch become so limited since Manning's February appointment that many would have expected him to depart in the summer transfer window, but he has instead remained with the Robins past the transfer deadline.

Harry Cornick, Bristol City verdict issued as Robins game-time set to be an issue

Cornick is yet to feature in any league games in the new campaign, with his only appearance in 2024/25 so far coming as a half-time substitute in a 1-0 EFL Cup first round loss to Coventry City, so it is clear that he is set to struggle for minutes going forward.

His game-time lessened as last season went on, and he is not likely to see an increase this term after the summer additions of Yu Hirakawa, Fally Mayulu and Sinclair Armstrong in his preferred right-wing and centre-forward positions.

As a result, FLW's Robins' fan pundit, Tom Sandy, was surprised to see the 29-year-old stay in BS3, and has predicted that an exit could be on the horizon in January if he continues to be left out in the cold.

“If there is one player at the club that I am surprised didn’t leave this summer, that would have to be Harry Cornick," Tom told Football League World.

“I was expecting him to leave due to the fact that we signed so many wide players, and ones that are going to be playing over him, in my opinion.

“I didn’t see him staying and I didn’t see Liam Manning wanting to keep him for the season.

“He’s good there for depth, but he usually plays for us off the right and in that position we’ve got Yu Hirakawa, Mark Sykes, Anis Mehmeti and Sam Bell, who I think all start over him.

“I was surprised that we have decided to keep him.

“He seems like a fantastic character in the dressing room. I can imagine he gives everyone a big boost, he’s one of them players that really improves morale, but I don’t think he has the ability to play in a team that is striving to do what we want to do.

“I don’t think he’s going to play in a way that would get us into the play-offs, you can see that over the last season-and-a-half when we have had him starting, I think we’ve lacked that quality in wide areas.

“He’s had good games, but for the majority of the time he’s had games where he’s not been able to really get into it just because of how he plays.

“There is a good footballer in there, but I don’t think he fits Manning’s system, which seems to all be about small, intricate passes, where Cornick is more of a counter-attack, driving the ball, playing people through, arriving late in the box kind of player.

“He just hasn’t got the sharpness to do it. He’s fourth or fifth in the pecking order at this point for the right-wing position, and so I am surprised that we have kept a hold of him.

“We’ll see if he plays a big part this season. If he doesn’t play much between now and the next transfer window, then I wouldn’t be surprised to see him leave in January.”

Harry Cornick has strong enough credentials for a Championship transfer in January

Many would have expected Cornick to kick on at Bristol City after his impressive spell with Luton, but that has not been the case, and he has seemingly struggled to adapt to his new surroundings in the last 18 months.

The Poole-born winger played a huge part in the Hatters' quick ascent from the fourth-tier to the Championship from his arrival in 2017 to his departure in 2023, and grew into a reliable goalscorer across all divisions while at Kenilworth Road.

He joined Luton at 22-years-old after being deemed surplus to requirements at boyhood club AFC Bournemouth, and went on to feature 235 times for the club across five years, with 142 of those in the second-tier.

Cornick's best goal-scoring campaign to date came in 2021/22 as he netted 13 times in 43 games in all competitions, but he soon fell out of favour in 2022/23 under Rob Edwards as the Hatters aimed for promotion, and so joined the Robins in the hope of reviving his form at a new club.

It simply hasn't happened for him since he moved to the south-west though - he registered one goal and assist each in 17 games in his first half-season, then made 45 appearances last campaign with just nine starts, three goals and an assist to his name, and has featured for only 45 minutes so far this term.

It is clear that Liam Manning has never really fancied him as a starter since his appointment in February, and so it has come as a surprise to see him stay with the club beyond the deadline, with an exit surely likely in the next few transfer windows if he continues to be left out.