Bristol City hold talks to sign ex-Liverpool player | OneFootball

Ranel Young is reportedly of interest to the West Country outfit

Bristol City have reportedly held talks with former Liverpool academy forward, Ranel Young, ahead of a potential transfer switch to Ashton Gate in the upcoming winter window.

That is according to Bristol Live, with the 19-year-old currently plying his trade in Serbia for First League outfit, FK Usce Novi Beograd.

Gerhard Struber is gearing up for just his second opportunity to conduct business in this part of the West Country, having taken charge of the Robins in June on a three-year contract following the departure of Liam Manning to Norwich City after the man who was recently relieved of his duties at Carrow Road guided his prior employers to the Championship play-offs for the first time since the 2007/08 season.

Despite a change in the dugout over the course of pre-season, Struber has maintained the services of many players who shone under Manning during the second half of last season in particular, as City look to make it back-to-back top six finishes and potentially end an exile from the top flight which will have lasted 46 years by the conclusion of the current regular campaign.

At present, the Reds are in a reasonable enough position to achieve such aims heading into the Christmas and New Year period, with the Austrian head coach able to make the changes he deems necessary within his ranks in order to see them edge past competition such as newly-relegated Southampton and big-spenders in the form of Birmingham City and Wrexham.

The Robins endured a frustrating 1-0 defeat to league leaders, Coventry City, last time out at the Coventry Building Society Arena. However, it was a positive attacking display from Struber's energetic side, who are currently five points and four places behind Hull City in sixth with 25 league games still to play.

Currently holding a record of 28 goals scored in 21 games played thus far, the former FC Koln and Barnsley boss appears to be in the market for more attacking reinforcements amid a well-documented injury crisis in BS3 of late.

Bristol City hold talks with former Liverpool academy forward Ranel Young amid potential transfer

As previously mentioned, the Championship side have reportedly held initial conversations with Young over the potential for a transfer move back to England, just months after he departed Anfield after rejecting a new contract under Arne Slot, instead opting to venture into a new chapter on mainland Europe.

The winger, who is capable of featuring on either the right or left flank, had previously been on the books of the current Premier League champions for a number of years, initially signing with the Reds from his hometown club, Huddersfield Town, at Under-12s level.

Young had recently made strides of progress through the youth ranks at the AXA Training Centre, featuring 29 times for the club at Under-18s level, scoring five times and producing a further two assists, with three of those outings coming in the FA Youth Cup, whilst a further 11 came in the UEFA Youth League.

He would then progress into the Under-21s setup, producing overall numbers of four goals and two assists across 23 further appearances, with all of those aforementioned strikes coming in the Premier League 2.

After initially starring for Marc Bridge-Wilkinson in the Under-18s setup, Young put pen to paper on his first professional contract at Anfield in May 2023, a deal which would last the course of the next two seasons, concluding in June 2025.

However, with said deal nearing its conclusion over the course of the summer, Young was offered fresh terms to remain on Merseyside after being named as an unused substitute against Brighton and Hove Albion in the EFL Cup and in the shock FA Cup defeat to Plymouth Argyle in February.

He would reject the offer and move to FK Usce, where he has since made five appearances and posted a solitary assist, although none of those outings have come since September, with the Belgrade-based club sitting bottom of the table after 22 games played.

Bristol City would hope to unearth a gem with potential Ranel Young transfer

Within Bristol Live's aforementioned report, it has been noted that a deal between the relevant parties is yet to be agreed. However, Struber would hope to unearth a gem with this potential signing.

Having come through the Liverpool ranks, Young is clearly a player of raw talent, and it came as a surprise when he rejected fresh terms in the North West to pursue his summer switch to the Serbian outfit, although he may regret such a decision in hindsight.

As such, the opportunity of returning to England for a club renowned for developing strong talents such as Max Bird and Jason Knight may be hard to turn down.

It must be said, though, that an initial adaptation to the rigours of the Championship may be needed for Young, who failed to make a senior appearance or secure a loan move during a lengthy spell as an Anfield academy graduate.