Bristol City, QPR & Birmingham City interested in taking Wolverhampton Wanderers defender on loan

Bristol City are reportedly interested in taking Wolverhampton Wanderers defender Dion Sanderson on loan but face competition from two of their Championship rivals.

The Robins have yet to make any signings with half of the January transfer window gone but now they could be ready to move after being linked with yet another defender after both Jake Bidwell and Neil Taylor ended up elsewhere.

A report from the Daily Mail says that both City, Queens Park Rangers and Birmingham City all want Sanderson until the end of the season.

The 22-year-old spent the first part of the campaign on loan at the Blues but was recalled along with Ryan Giles from Cardiff City as Bruno Lage assessed the quality of the players.

It came at a time when Premier League clubs wanted to increase their squad size to combat any COVID postponements with the player named on the bench against Southampton on Saturday.

As the situation has cleared up and Toti Gomes has cemented himself in the role, the Midlands side are now willing to let Sanderson leave Molineux again to help aid his development, though his contract is up at the end of the season.

He played 15 times for Lee Bowyer’s side this season, keeping six clean sheets, but was recalled just after New Years Day after making his final appearance against Queens Park Rangers.

Before joining Birmingham on loan, he spent last season on loan at Sunderland, working with former City boss Lee Johnson. During his time there he won the EFL Trophy and saw a fourth-placed finish.

Sanderson was also part of the Cardiff City side that reached the 2019/20 play-offs, eventually losing to Fulham.

The Wolverhampton-born defender is primarily a right-back but can also play as centre-back, which could add some versatility to the defence.

Alex Scott has played in that role on a number of occasions this season but has recently been pushed back into central midfield whilst left-footed defender Jay Dasilva has also been tried there in the last two matches against Fulham.

A striker was a priority for City in this window but the emergence of Antoine Semenyo who netted a brace against Fulham may see Nigel Pearson and City’s transfer committee reassess their options.

But in the defensive department, Pearson may be unable to call upon trusted centre-back Nathan Baker, who’s season may be over after two consecutive head injuries. The 30-year-old has not featured in a match day since being stretchered off against Sheffield United back in late November.

Appearing on Geoff Twentyman’s BBC Radio Bristol’s Sound of the City yesterday, Pearson said: "We have to be prepared for the fact we might not see him again this season.

"I understand people's concerns and there is a necessity to find out timescales. "Because of the two concussions he's had, in the short period of time and the nature of them, and the fact how he plays, it's very, very difficult to put a time frame on that.

"Again, one of the hard things is to explain to people is how important it is that actually his welfare has to come first. And that's a very difficult thing on a purely football front.”