Bristol City are reportedly out of the running for Fulham centre-back Alfie Mawson due to the cost of a potential deal.
Mawson has fallen out of favour at Craven Cottage, not featuring once after returning from injury during the run-in, and with the west London club preparing for life in the Premier League it seems as though game time could be hard to come by.
There has been a suggestion that Fulham are keen to balance their books and recent reports (Sky Sports Transfer Centre; 02/09, 17:57) have indicated that the Robins had enquired about signing the defender but it appears the 26-year-old is unlikely to make the switch to Ashton Gate this summer.
The Bristol Post's Gregor MacGregor has revealed that the Robins were interested in Mawson and did approach Fulham about his availability but that they were unable to afford the player, so have now moved on and are out of the running.
City need to sign a new central defender this summer with Leicester City loanee Filip Benkovic and the experienced Ashley Williams both no longer with the squad, while Dean Holden has confirmed that Nathan Baker is facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
That leaves the Robins with just Tomas Kalas, Taylor Moore, and Zak Vyner to choose from – not a huge amount of options given Holden favours a 3-5-2 formation.
Liverpool's Nat Phillips is also a player that has been linked with the club over the past few days.
Can you name where each of these 14 ex-Bristol City players are playing now?
The Verdict
This will likely come as a disappointment for City fans but perhaps not a surprise.
A physical presence that is confident in possession and a commanding voice in the backline, Mawson would have been a fantastic addition to the Robins squad but given he joined Fulham for a reported fee in the region of £20 million not too long ago, it's no surprise that the deal outprices the South West club.
It's imperative that the Bs3 outfit look to bring in at least one new central defender as soon as possible because they're looking worryingly short of depth at the moment.