Bristol City 'relentless' in pursuit of number 10

Liam Manning has been enjoying his first summer pre-season with Bristol City since taking over last November

Bristol City are "relentlessly" trying to bring a number 10 into the club this transfer window, says head coach Liam Manning.

The Robins have bolstered their attacking line-up by signing three forwards this summer but Manning believes a piece is still missing, with top scorer Tommy Conway expected to leave the Championship club.

"I spoke last season about having different profiles in attacking positions especially - we've done a good job of adding to that, [but] we still need to add a bit more," Manning told BBC Radio Bristol.

"Someone who can play between the lines. Having that profile where someone you can play through to, that will slide people in behind.

"It's something that we're relentless with, we're proactive, the big thing we're really aligned with is how we operate but also what we're trying to get in."

Bristol City begin their 2024-25 campaign away to Hull City on Saturday, 10 August in Manning's first full season in charge after taking over last November.

He has made no secret of his desire to sign Burnley's Scott Twine, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Ashton Gate.

The 25-year-old also previously worked under Manning at MK Dons during the 2021-22 campaign, when he scored 20 goals in 50 games.

"Everybody knows that I like him in terms of working with him previously but he's not our player - until I'm in a position to talk around that I totally respect that," Manning said.

"What we have to do is make sure we don't go all-in on one and ultimately lose out on second, third, fourth choices because of that."

Bristol City have brought in three players so far this summer - strikers Sinclair Armstrong and Fally Mayulu on permanent deals plus winger Yu Hirakawa on loan.

However, Japan international Hirakawa has arrived with an ankle injury, picked up while playing for his country at the Paris Olympics.

"I don't see it as a long, long one," Manning said.

"He can walk fine - it's more the twisting and the turning, the stability of it not where we want it to be. It's the case now of sending him off and finding where it is exactly."

Two players who have been back training during pre-season, though, are Ayman Benarous and Rob Atkinson, both of whom had been out with long-term injuries.

While Atkinson picked up a "slight groin" sprain during their match with Cheltenham which will keep him out of the squad for two weeks, Benarous scored for the under-21s.

"It's about making sure you build up their load," Manning added.

"When you haven't played for such a long period of time there's a real danger when you throw them back in too quickly of pushing them too hard and breaking them again."