Steven Caulker, Fenerbahce and an unlikely Bristol City reunion for the centre-back

Former Bristol City centre-back Steven Caulker looks to be available for transfer this summer.

The 30-year-old defender has a year remaining on hos contract at Turkish Super Lig outfit SK Fenerbahce, but the ex-Tottenham Hotspur, Cardiff and QPR man is believed to have been left out of his club’s Champions League squad.

Jorge Jesus’s side finished second in the league in 2021/22 and face Dynamo Kyiv in qualifying next Wednesday for Europe’s elite club competition.

A 25-man squad has been named but Caulker does not feature in Uefa’s reported squad for the Yellow Canaries.

And a move could be on the cards for the eight-cap Sierra Leone international player, with rumours on social media suggesting that Bristol City are set to bring back their former centre-back.

Caulker played at Ashton Gate from 2010/11 on loan from Spurs, before going on to play at both Swansea City and Cardiff City too.

After signing a reported two-year deal with the Istanbul side, Caulker is expected to play elsewhere next season following spending the last year on loan fellow Süper Lig side Gaziantep.

Reports in Turkey even suggest the player has been released from his contract this summer to pursue other opportunities, although there has been no official confirmation yet.

Despite the links and with Bristol City expected to recruit another defender in the current transfer window BristolWorld understands that there is nothing close to happening on that front, as things stand.

The players’ representatives will be looking for a new club if Caulker is departing Fenerbahce and he is likely to be offered to several teams ahead of the new season.

Caulker’s experience may be of benefit in BS3 but the player has previously documented how he was not happy during his previous spell in the South West.

An interview with The Guardian in 2017 discussed his problems with alcohol, gambling addiction and depression, with Caulker referencing his time at Bristol City and the problems of being a young footballer sent out on loan.

“Tottenham sent me to Bristol City on loan at 18 and they put me in a flat in the city centre surrounded by nightclubs, two casinos opposite, the kind of money I’d never seen in my life, and no guidance whatsoever,” he told the broadsheet.

“I was pulled once by a member of staff and told I’d been spotted in the casino at 3am but their attitude was: ‘What you do in your spare time is your business. Just don’t let it affect your performances out on the pitch.’”

Caulker has gone on to carve a long career in the game since 32 appearances for City back then and has played internationally.

Meanwhile Bristol City cult club hero Korey Smith is set to join Derby County, with a medical taking place on Friday.

Smith, a member of the 2014/15 double-winning side, was released by Swansea City in the summer following the conclusion of his two-year contract.