Football League World
·8 July 2024
Blackburn Rovers, Bristol City and Cardiff City in transfer tussle for 24-year-old attacker
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Football League World
·8 July 2024
Blackburn Rovers, Bristol City and Cardiff City are all keeping tabs on Exeter City forward Millenic Alli.
Blackburn Rovers, Bristol City and Cardiff City are all interested in Exeter City forward Millenic Alli after his impressive start to life in the Football League with the League One side last season.
The 24-year-old Irishman started out in non-league football, featuring for South Shields and Ashton United before he earned a move to Stockport County when they were in the National League.
However, he didn’t feature for the Edgeley Park outfit, instead spending the campaign out on loan at Chorley, before he was released.
Alli moved to Halifax Town in 2022, and that switch really got his career going, as he impressed in Yorkshire over an 18-month period.
That prompted Exeter to sign the player in January this year, and Alli handled the step up to the third tier very well, as he scored four goals in ten games after getting some opportunities towards the end of the season.
And, his form for Exeter seems to have caught the eye, as Football Insider has revealed that Blackburn, Bristol City and Cardiff are all considering a move for the attacker this summer.
The update adds that Alli’s ability to play across a forward line appeals to the club, whilst there is hope that they could pick him up for a relatively modest fee.
That’s because Alli’s deal with the Grecians is set to expire in 12 months' time, so the League One side know that this could be the last chance to command a decent fee for the attacker.
It’s no surprise that Rovers, the Robins and the Bluebirds are all keeping tabs on Alli, because they are three clubs that simply bring in reinforcements in the final third over the coming weeks.
In Blackburn’s case, they are expecting to face a battle to keep hold of Sammie Szmodics, and if he does depart he will be very hard to replace, as he was so influential having ended up as the top scorer in the Championship last season.
Meanwhile, Bristol City didn’t have a prolific scorer last season, and they would struggle to retain Tommy Conway amid talk that he could be on the move as a new deal with the Scotland international hasn’t been agreed.
As for Cardiff, they really struggled for goals, so bringing in multiple options in attack is sure to be a priority for Erol Bulut ahead of the new season.
Of course, there’s no doubt that this signing would be a gamble, and fans of the respective clubs would probably prefer that their clubs were in the market for more proven players.
However, the reality is that all three don’t have the budget of some of their rivals in the Championship, so it’s about trying to identify gems that can make the step up.
Clearly, there is a feeling in the game that Alli could do that, and he is a player who has the tools to make his mark at this level. As you would expect, there are areas of his game that he must improve, but that will come with experience.