Bristol City have seen off competition from a number of other Championship clubs to secure the signing of midfielder Sammie Szmodics from Colchester United, The Bristol Post have reported.

Szmodics has made 162 appearances and scored 38 goals in all competitions since graduating from Colchester's youth side, establishing himself as one of League Two's most sought after players in recent years.

It now appears however that his time at the club is set to come to an end, with Bristol City expected to  pay a fee in the region of £750,000 to secure the service of Szmodics, who hit 14 goals and provided seven assists in 43 League Two appearances last season.

It is thought that The Robins Championship rivals Derby and Hull had also been interested in Szmodics, who turned down a move to League One Peterborough last week, while it has also been claimed that Leeds United had made a late move in a bid to secure the services of the attacking midfielder.

If confirmed, Szmodics will be Bristol City's first signing of the summer transfer window.

The Verdict

Hats off to Bristol City.

Szmodics is a hugely promising player, who has already shown plenty of ability at League Two level, and at 23-years-old, still has plenty of potential to develop further.

It will be interesting to see just how soon Szmodics is able to break into the Robins' first team, although you would imagine that the midfielder himself will intend to make that step sooner rather than later.

Holding off clubs such as Leeds and Derby, who both competed for promotion to the Premier League last season, is also hugely encouraging for the rest of the transfer for Bristol City, and feels like something of a statement of intent about their own ambitions for a promotion push next season.