Oxford United defender Rob Atkinson has emerged as one of the two centre-backs Nigel Pearson would like to bring to Ashton Gate this summer as he targets five additions to his squad.
As first reported by Bristol Live last week, City have made an offer in excess of £1.4m for the 22-year-old with the U's valuing the defender at around £1.6m. Although Sky Sports reported that the bid was "expected to be turned down" there's no indication as yet that it actually has.
But City's negotiations could hinge on the League One club identifying and recruiting a replacement for Atkinson, who started 41 of a possible 46 league fixtures last term and was named in the PFA Team of the Year.
The first steps in that process could well have begun with the Scottish Sun reporting that Oxford are interested in signing St Johnstone defender Jason Kerr.
Kerr captained The Saints to a remarkable cup double north of the border and the 24-year-old is wanted by the U's, Wigan Athletic - who have been aggressive so far this summer following a takeover - as well as Hibernian.
As City remain in talks with Oxford over Atkinson regarding a transfer fee, the mere fact that Karl Robinson's side appear to be identifying defensive targets indicates there's a growing chance he could leave the Kassam Stadium.
City will be mindful of last summer, however, when it was apparent Oxford were going to have to sell Rob Dickie, due to an overwhelming amount of interest at Championship and Premier League level, but the centre-back didn't depart for QPR until a few weeks before the start of the 2020/21 campaign as they extracted the maximum possible value.
Atkinson proved to be Dickie's replacement, having signed from non-league Eastleigh the previous January, slotting into the centre of defence alongside Elliott Moore.
City will have to remain patient, and unlike the Dickie situation, Oxford are not bound by time as Atkinson has two years remaining on his contract as opposed to 12 months.
Relations between the clubs should be positive, though, following the loan agreement of Matty Taylor which proved so beneficial to the U's in the 2019/20 campaign.
