Bristol City transfer target won’t renew contract as Fulham and Inter Milan alerted

There’s potential for Bristol City to sign a player in the summer - but there’s fierce competition
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Bristol City haven’t yet made a signing in the January transfer window and without a big-money departure of a key player it remains unlikely, but when it comes to a potential future signings, they have received a boost for this summer.

In November, the Robins were one of three clubs said to be interested in a move for French-born defender Koffi Djidji by the Italian press. Fulham are the team to have held interest the longest before being followed by Bristol City and Anderlecht. Inter Milan, currently third in Serie A, then followed up with interest later in the month. All four clubs have now been put on alert after it emerged that centre-back Koffi Djidji is unlikely to renew his contract with Italian club Torino.

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Italian football journalist Nicolo Schira broke the news on Friday on Twitter that a move away from Turin in the summer, with no sign of a new deal. Schira tweeted: "Koffi #Djidji will not extend his contract with #Torino (expires in June 2023) and is ready to leave as a free agent at the end of the season."

The links with Djidji are interesting, but the Robins would for sure be at the bottom of the pile as a potential destination, given the financial resources the other clubs have. The club has offered new contracts to seven of their nine out-of-contract players in the summer but they are expected to have been offered lesser terms than when they had originally signed for the club.

Italian giants Inter Milan can offer Djidji a smooth transition by just moving across Italy and could offer him Champions League football if they continue performing as they are in the table. Inter’s position was always that they were prepared to wait until the summer and that Djidji would offer them more options as they look to increase their squa depth.

Anderlecht meanwhile have fallen considerably since Vincent Kompany’s departure to Burnley with the Belgian club currently mid-table, but are still a pull for some players. London-based Fulham have been linked with him since their promotion in May, but may look elsewhere should they secure Premier League survival.

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The 30-year-old has played 18 times for Torino this season and has kept four clean sheets in the 2022/23 campaign. In his career, he played 95 times each in both the French and Italian top flight, and was almost capped internationally by the Ivory Coast.

A new centre-back is a preference for City who have wanted to sign defensive reinforcements for the last 12 months. Timm Klose is expected to leave in this transfer window should a viable offer come in for him after he held talks with the club. Out-of-contract Tomas Kalas has become available for selection again after suffering a setback after he was out for seven months following surgery. Kalas was named as an unused substitute in City’s 1-1 draw with ten-man Blackburn Rovers last Saturday. Summer signing Kal Naismith meanwhile has been moved from defence in to the midfield after a change in system.

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