Bristol City manager Nigel Pearson confirms deal for defender in place

Bristol City manager Nigel Pearson has confirmed that 19-year-old Duncan Idehen will join the club on a permanent deal. 

The youngster made his Sky Bet Championship debut in the 3-1 win over Derby on Saturday after coming on in the 72nd minute and will remain at Ashton Gate beyond the summer.

The defender was brought into Bristol City in January after being released by Grimsby Town and was spotted by Academy Director Brian Tinnion, who went to watch loan players James Morton and Owura Edwards at the time.

Idehen did enough to convince Tinnion and Pearson, with BristolWorld reporting that a two-year-deal has been agreed along with a optional year with talks taking place recently.

In speaking to BristolWorld about the deal, Pearson said: “We’ll be keeping him. He’s got physical attributes which are really, really important and we’ve not seen his passing range today but he has a good range of passing.

“He was a bit nervous to start with but he is naturally a very good defender, he’s a good destructive player. He was very excited about being on the bench and to make his debut for a lad who has come on quite a bit.”

Following that win over Derby on Saturday, Bristol City now sit 17th in the Championship table, with the Robins having long since been out of both the play-off race and relegation battle this season.

Pearson’s side end the campaign with clashes at home to Hull City, and away to Huddersfield Town, as they aim to finish things on a high.

The Verdict

It’s a nice change of direction from Bristol City who in recent years have splashed money almost aimlessly at players which has had a huge impact on the football club.

This change in philosophy will almost certainly be more beenficial in the long-term as the club seeks