Bristol City have joined the race to sign Aberdeen defender Scott McKenna, according to the Bristol Post

The 22-year-old centre-back made 39 appearances for Aberdeen in all competitions last season, but there is a chance he could leave Pittodrie before the transfer deadline on Thursday.

This last report states that Bristol City are hoping to sign the defender as a long-term replacement for Adam Webster, who left the club to join Brighton last week for a reported fee of £20million.

McKenna has four years remaining on his contract at Pittodrie and has handed in a transfer request in an attempt to force a move away from Aberdeen, who value him at around £5million.

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Celtic, Nottingham Forest and Queens Park Rangers have all shown an interest in signing the Scotland international this summer, but no club has been willing to meet Aberdeen's £5 million valuation so far.

Bristol City head coach Lee Johnson has brought in ten new players so far this summer, as he looks to build a team that can challenge for promotion from the Championship this season, after his side just missed out on the play-offs last term.

The Robins finished eighth in the Championship last season, four points outside the top six, but lost their opening game of the new season 3-1 to Leeds United at the weekend.

The Verdict

This could be a good signing for Bristol City and a good replacement for Webster. McKenna is a solid defender and could form a good partnership with Tomas Kalas at centre-back for the Robins this season.

He's got an impressive amount of experience for his age and can operate in either a back four or a back three, making him a very useful option for any manager to have in his squad.

The defender has four years remaining on his contract, so Aberdeen are in a strong position when it comes to negotiations, but Bristol City should be able to easily meet their £5million valuation.

It will be interesting to see if the Robins are willing to come up with the money to get the deal done before the transfer deadline.