6 players that Bristol City will loan out in 2024-25

Bristol City are not messing about this summer.

Often, loan deals are left till the final rungs of the transfer window closer to the season, with clubs having finalised their playing squads and only then committing to letting players leave.

However, Bristol City are not hanging about and have already agreed for three players to depart the club this summer; Seb Palmer-Houlden has joined Dundee, Ephraim Yeboah has joined Doncaster Rovers and Jamie Knight-Lebel has joined Crewe Alexandra. All three have signed season-long loan deals.

With that in mind, I think that we may see Brian Tinnion agree further players to depart the club on loan. Thus, I have identified six players who I feel will indeed leave in search of regular football.

Adam Murphy (Swindon Town)

The first player on this list that I think will likely go out on loan this season into the EFL is midfielder Adam Murphy. Given the weight of midfield options that The Robins have at their disposal, chances of breaking through into the first-team are few and far between, and so I think that the best thing he can do for him is to go and get some regular minutes under his belt at a decent level. As such, I think that he should go and sign for League Two outfit Swindon Town.

Who better to sign for when you leave one team called The Robins than sign for another team called The Robins? Granted, that isn’t slightly the reason as to why I think that a move to Swindon Town would be the right idea for him, but it is quite poetic. Town boss Mark Kennedy is someone who has previous of signing from players with links to Ireland – with recent signings Tunmise Sobowale and Ryan Delaney having previously played there – and managed a club in Lincoln City that have a track record of recruiting from Ireland; as such, Adam Murphy may be a player that Kennedy has knowledge of. Prior to signing for Bristol City, Murphy spent time with St Patrick’s Athletic.

Murphy is just 19 years of age, and needs to be out playing every week before he can make inroads into the Bristol City first-team. The Irishman was rated as one of the best, up-and-coming prospects back in Ireland, and I am confident that he would be a coup for League Two. An attacking midfielder that has an eye for a goal, gets shots off, is intricate in tight spaces and can receive the ball on the turn, I think he’d be a smart addition to Swindon Town’s midfield options.

Olly Thomas (Torquay United)

One area that I feel Torquay United still need to add to their squad is at the top end of the pitch. They have two good poachers in Bradley Ash and Ben Seymour, and an up-and-coming, young prospect in the form of Jayden Crosbie. However, they miss a more physical and powerful profile to provide a foil alongside them and so I’d be eager to see Olly Thomas head South.

Thomas spent last season with Yeovil Town in the National League South and briefly in league Two with Newport County; he ended up the campaign with The Glovers and went on to win the sixth tier. He didn’t feature all that regularly for The Glovers upon his return later in the season, but having watched him in Town colours last season – in the league and in pre-season especially – I am confident that there is a hugely talented player there who needs a regular run of games to his name in which to accelerate his development. I think it is likely that he will look for another loan spell in the National League South, and so given the long standing links between The Gulls and The Robins, it makes sense – I feel – that Thomas flies the nest and move to Plainmoor on loan.

In terms of finding a player with the skillsets that the Torquay United attack is missing, I think Olly Thomas has demonstrated he has the right balance to his armoury. They lack someone of a tall, athletic profile that is capable at pressing from the front with power, pace and energy, someone that is able to play with his back to goal and who is direct. Olly Thomas is all of those things, with blistering pace and he is capable of pressing diligently from the front; a real handful for the opposition at his best. He would provide the perfect antithesis to an Ash or a Seymour, and given the history of successful loans from Ashton Gate in South Devon, I think this would be beneficial for both parties.

Raphael Araoye (Weymouth)

When I watched Weymouth last season, one area in which I felt they desperately needed to strengthen was in defence; The Terras conceded far too many goals. One player that did impress me in the sixth tier last season and who I feel could be a useful loan acquisition for Mark Molesley’s men in the forthcoming campaign is centre-back Raphael Araoye.

Araoye spent time with Weston-super-Mare last season, and I was impressed with the way that the young defender played with a composure and a confidence both when defending his penalty area and in being able to pass out from the back under pressure. The Seagulls have already signed a new centre-back this summer in the form of Emlyn Lewis, and so the chances of Scott Bartlett making a move to bring the centre-back back into the club during the summer is quite unlikely. As such, he will need to look elsewhere in search of regular minutes and so in the position that The Terras find themselves – lacking depth and quality – I feel that Araoye would be a good fit.

The Terras have already signed Corey Jordan so far this summer, but Araoye would provide the natural balance to partner him given that he is a left-footed, cultured centre-back. Mark Molesley wants to instil a progressive, passing brand of football and so Araoye is well-suited to this, having slotted in nicely to a side who are similarly expressive in possession as The Seagulls are, and given his strong technical competencies having come through a strong academy. He is a good size, and provides them with more natural height, physicality and power to their defending which can only be invaluable, and I think that a loan to The Bob Lucas Stadium and a starting berth would be just what he needs.

Omar Taylor-Clarke (Newport County)

Newport County will likely have to once again be quite inventive in the way that they are able to strengthen their squad this summer. They have got success out of the loan market and notably shown a strong relationship with The Robins in recent terms – with Olly Thomas and Seb Palmer-Houlden signing for The Exiles as recently as last season – and so it is perhaps a logical expectation that they will look to make use of those connections. As such, one player that I think they should look at is youngster Omar Taylor-Clarke.

Taylor-Clarke spent time out on loan at Weston-super-Mare, but I think that he will be looking for a higher level loan next season. He has made his league debut for The Robins in March 2023, and is a player highly-rated in City circles; as such, I think that he will be targeting a League Two loan. Watching The Exiles last term, I felt that they missed the speed and agility both in and out of possession to be a real threat, however Taylor-Clarke is a player of the high-energy, pressing profile that would be a good complement for the existing County options. He can play centrally or out wide, and he could be the ideal player to offer the running power and trickery that County missed to make them a more dangerous attacking side.

One of the major benefits to this deal as to why I think it would be a good fit for both parties is that Taylor-Clarke actually originates from Newport; thus, this would simply be a case of going back to his roots. The geography works given the locality of just having to “hop over the Welsh border”, but the fact that he has roots to Newport as his boyhood town – to me – provides some basis as to why it could work.

Josey Casa Grande (Chesham United)

One player who will be looking to go out on loan in the 2024-25 season is young goalkeeper Josey Casa Grande. At the start of the summer, I felt that he may have returned to Bath City on loan having spent time with Jerry Gill’s side last term, but with The Romans having signed another goalkeeper to have come through at Ashton Gate (Harvey Wiles-Richards) he will need to look for an option elsewhere. As such, I think that a possible destination for the youngster is newly promoted National League South outfit Chesham United.

As with any player that goes out on loan – and particularly for goalkeepers and one at the stage Casa Grande is – they need to go somewhere that he is going to get regular first-team minutes under his belt or at the very least be challenging for the jersey rather than just being solely limited to a spot on the bench. I think that Chesham United could well be the ideal place for him to go and continue his development next year, as United are missing a number one; Zaki Oualah – who played the bulk of minutes as they were promoted into the National League South – announced that he would be leaving the club this summer.

Chesham United did announce the addition of former United goalkeeper Ben Goode, and so Casa Grande would be coming in to provide competition for the experienced shot-stopper, but I think that they would be a good pair. Above all else, it would be a good opportunity for Casa Grande to learn off a goalkeeper with the wealth of experience he has. Casa Grande certainly doesn’t have the experience of other options that are available on the market, but Casa Grande is a highly-rated, young goalkeeper that does have games under his belt in the sixth tier and so wouldn’t be a complete stranger to the environment in which United are heading.

Jed Meerholz (Bath City)

The player on this list is midfielder Jed Meerholz. The youngster spent part of last season on loan in the National League South with Jerry Gill’s Bath City – albeit not featuring regularly – but nevertheless that provided him with a useful taste of first-team football. And, with The Romans having either moved on or lost a number of midfield options so far this summer, I think that another loan for the youngster might be advisable; especially in aiding Meerholz’ development.

With Tom Smith and Dan Hayfield having both announced their departures in the summer, there is an opening in this Romans squad to have an energetic, full of running, athletic type that can complement the deeper-lying Luke Russe and give them a forward-thinking profile of midfielder that can break lines, get into the box and provide them with an outlet in the final third. He is a good size, can carry the ball from deep and protects it well in possession.

Meerholz is diligent on and off the ball, and I think that with the current design of the Bath City squad, this upcoming campaign would be the ideal opportunity for him to get regular minutes at a decent level. The Romans have already signed a former Bristol City man in the form of Harvey Wiles-Richards, and City have been strong users of the loan market (particularly with City) under Gill, and as such I think they should make a move for him.