Bristol City have had an offer of compensation to sign Hakeeb Adelakun rejected by Scunthorpe, according to Sky Sports News.

The 22-year-old is out of contract at Glanford Park but Scunthorpe are due to receive a fee as he is under 23 and has been with them since the age of 16.

Adelakun has also been attracting the interest of both Hull City and Nottingham Forest, as well as Sunderland. He recently confirmed he would not be signing a new deal with the Iron as he looks for a move to a bigger club.

The former Crystal Palace youngster made 49 appearances for Scunthorpe last season, scoring five goals.  That helped Scunthorpe reach the play-offs, where they fell at the semi-finals stage to Rotherham United.

If the Robins continue their pursuit of Adelakun, they could opt to sign him and leave the fee to be decided by a transfer tribunal. Today's move could simply be the first shots fired in a protracted and drawn out transfer saga.

The Verdict

The player is leaving Scunthorpe, he's made that clear and now the vultures are circling. None of the potential suitors will be wanting to pay over the odds and they may chance their arm with the FA's tribunal. Of course, they might get burned badly, but on the other hand Scunthorpe may value the player significantly higher than a tribunal will. One thing is for certain, he's played his last game in Scunthorpe colours.