Bristol City hijack move for Blackburn Rovers transfer target and make offer

Bristol City are on the hunt for a replacement goalkeeper as Dan Bentley closes in on a move to Wolverhampton Wanderers, and they are reportedly looking in Scandinavia.

Various reports say that Bentley is undergoing a medical with Wolves today after a nominal fee was agreed between the two clubs. Bentley had fallen out of favour under Nigel Pearson and with his contract up at the end of the season, the two are seemingly parting ways six months before he was due to depart.

The Robins will be left with just one senior goalkeeper in Max O’Leary when Bentley’s move to the Midlands goes through. Stefan Bajic was loaned to French second-division side Valenciennes until the end of the season after struggling to get into the squad.

Norweigan journalist Stian Andre de Wahl says that Bristol City have offered Nikita Haikin a deal. He tweeted: “Is informed that former Bodø/Glimt goalkeeper Nikita Haikin has received an offer from Bristol City. If the final details fall into place and the parties reach full agreement, he will sign for the Championship club in England.

Haikin had reportedly been a target for Blackburn Rovers and was set to join but that has failed to happen after Aynsley Pears’ loan move fell through. Major League Soccer outfit Vancouver Whitecaps was also listed as a potential destination but the Canadian team are not expected to make a move for the goalkeeper.

Haikin is a free agent after his contract with Bodo/Glimt came to an end in December following the conclusion of the Norweigan football season. The 27-year-old is from Israel but has Russian citizenship and is a five-time youth international. He was called up to the Russian national team in October 2021 as a back-up goalkeeper.

He was at Bodo/Glimt on a short-term deal and played in the Champions League qualifiers in July, before featuring in the Europa League against Arsenal, PSV Eindhoven, and FC Zurich. In the previous season, he was Bodo/Glimt’s first-choice and kept 15 clean sheets across 48 matches.

His other clubs include Bnei Yehuda and Hapoel Kfar Saba, with no appearances for CD Nacional, Marbella, Mordovia Saransk or Kuban Krasnodar.