"Too early to sell" - Bristol City transfer plea issued as surprise Stoke City interest emerges | OneFootball

Stoke City have made a shock approach for one of Bristol City’s young attackers

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Bristol City striker Fally Mayulu could be on the move from Ashton Gate already, with Stoke City keen on the French attacker.

That’s according to reports from the Mirror’s transfer live blog (22/1/25, 15:53) where it was claimed that the Potters have tabled a £2.5million offer for the 22-year-old's services.

Mayulu only joined City in the summer from Rapid Vienna for the exact same fee that has been bid for him this month, but has found minutes hard to come by and is now already been weighed up for a departure.

We asked our Bristol City Fan Pundit, Tom Sandy, for his thoughts on the proposed move, and he believes that the young forward should not be written off so quickly by the club and cashed in on.

“It's a really interesting potential deal," Tom told FLW.

"The fact that Stoke, obviously they're a team that are in need of a striker right now with the recalling of Tom Cannon, but it does seem like a strange move for them to go in for Fally Mayulu, obviously an unproven Championship striker who's struggling in a similar Championship club this season.

“£2.5million. It's around what we spent on him in the summer, and he hasn't broken into the team.

"It's really interesting that they’d go in for that move and I don't know how we react to it because he's a player with potential.

"Manning has come out a lot of times and said he's young, he's a project, he's a player that we need to get behind and give him more and more experience in order for him to get the merit out of that.

“And whether we want to sell him to Stoke and let them try and reap the rewards of that...I don't know. I don't know if we're ready to cash in. I don't think we've let the experiment go on long enough.

“Do we want to pay all that money right now? Do we think we can get that kind of money back again at another point? I'm not sure.

“So, it's a difficult one for the club because he's played a few recently, he hasn't played very well, fans have got on his back. Whether he wants to be around the club right now, I'm not sure, because obviously he hasn't had the opportunities he's probably wanted to have.

“But, I think it's too early to sell him. He’s only been at the club since, what, September? So, four months and to spend all that money on him, there's clearly been something now that we've wanted to sign. And Stoke wouldn't be interested in him if they didn't see something there, too.

“So, I think we have to persist with him because it's too early in the experiment to not do so, but it'll be interesting.

“Whether his mind has been turned by this other club who's going to guarantee him game-time and maybe give him better chances than we have, it's ultimately up to him whether he wants to put in the effort at this club or not because that's going to be the ultimatum, basically.

“If he doesn't put in the effort, he's not going to develop and he's not going to be able to compete at this level for this club.

“So, that's a judgment they have to make inside the club, whether he is doing that or not. That is going to be he be-all and end-all.

“But, I as a fan, would say it's too soon to sell him because he has got talent there. He's shown that. He showed that at the start of the season, and he's a player really devoid of confidence right now.

“So, whether we can instill that back in him, I hope so. I think it's too early to sell him, but we'll see what happens, because it is a very surprising move for me to be seeing.”

Fally Mayulu: Bristol City departure is inevitable now but it's oen they could regret

Despite Tom favouring giving Mayulu more time to settle in at Ashton Gate, his proposed move to Stoke does seem to be gathering pace.

The 22-year-old was left out of the Robins’ squad to face Coventry City and Sheffield Wednesday, with boss Liam Manning injury was not a factor.

Addressing the reports, Manning said: “It all depends on the options. It's probably not all on what I'd want and what's in front of us, [but] what's best for the club, what's best for Fally, what's best for the team here.

"They're obviously the conversations that will happen behind the scenes. He's got interest and we'll have to see what happens.”

It certainly, therefore, seems to be a deal that both sides are exploring, but, as Tom points out, to see a young striker leave this soon after his arrival is a shock, and could come back to bite City further down the line.

Mayulu still has the potential to be a good Championship striker, and the Robins are not exactly blessed with options at the top end of the pitch, but if his sale gives Manning the funds to re-invest into a player he actually wants, then it may be best to sanction the dea;.