Hibernian beat off Newcastle United, Aston Villa and Old Firm interest to sign Bristol City starlet

Bristol City have been dealt a blow with highly-rated academy youngster Reuben McAllister set to join Scottish Premier League club Hibernian.

The attacking midfielder was viewed as one of the brightest prospects in the Robins youth ranks and made his Under-23s debut at the age of just 15 in a 2-0 defeat against Queens Park Rangers last October.

Speaking after the game, Robins professional development coach Ali Hines praised the progress of McAllister and fellow debutant Ephraim Yeboah, telling the club’s website: “It’s fantastic for those boys.

“Their attitudes and quality of performances have been really good, so it’s a credit to the schoolboy program as well who have been coaching and working with them.”

McAllister’s stock rose further when he recently joined the renowned CAA Base agency, who counts the likes of Tottenham Hotspur star Son Heung-Min, Newcastle United and England full-back Kieran Trippier and Leicester City attacking midfielder James Maddison.

His progress has not gone unnoticed with the likes of Premier League clubs Newcastle United, Leicester City and Aston Villa all credited with an interest in the 16-year-old over the last six months.

That interest spread to north of the border with Glasgow giants Celtic and Rangers also said to be monitoring the situation in recent weeks.

However, it is Hibs and Lee Johnson that have seen off competition from a number of major clubs to win the race for McAllister’s services after agreeing a fee for around £130k for the youngster, according to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano.

A huge factor in the deal is that his father Jamie - who also played for City - is the assistant manager to Johnson and so the father-and-son pair will now be reunited in Edinburgh.

That figure could be increased significantly thanks to a number of add-ons included in the deal and it is understood the presence of Johnson was a driving force in bringing negotiations to a successful conclusion in recent weeks.

McAllister has now penned a three-year professional deal and will join up with Hibs B-team as they prepare for the new season.