Bristol City Carnet: Yu takes on Les Bleus, Scott Twine shines and Korey Smith’s new club

Bristol City are back on home soil after their training camp in Portugal and the start of their pre-season game schedule.

The Robins have five friendlies in just two weeks as head coach Liam Manning opted to loan out his summer schedule after using the opening weeks to build up his fitness and provide various tactical instruction.

City are also closing in on their third addition of the summer, with Sinclair Armstrong set to arrive from QPR for a fee of just £2m, his arrival coinciding with the news that Tommy Conway has been ordered to train with the U21s .

Here’s the latest Robins-related news on City players past, present and hopefully future…

Yu is warming up for the Olympics

New Bristol City winger Yu Hirakawa played 90 minutes for Japan’s Olympic team against France on Wednesday night as they continue their preparations for the start of the Games.

Japan drew 1-1 with the future hosts and Joel Chima Fujita’s 25th-minute opener was canceled out by former Crystal Palace striker Michael Olise, now of Bayern Munich.

Japan are in Group D of the soccer tournament alongside Paraguay, Mali and Israel, opening against the South Americans on Wednesday, July 24.

Yu signed for City earlier this month on an initial loan deal from Machida Zelvia with a view to a permanent move and spent time with the team at their training camp in Portugal before flying to France to meet with the national team .

The earliest Yu could return to the HPC would be July 31, the day after the group stage ends, but if Japan advances to the knockouts, it could be until after the gold medal match on August 8 when he returns to West Country.

String shines for Burnley

City transfer target Scott Twine scored a hat-trick for Burnley in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Barnsley that no doubt impressed new Clarets boss Scott Parker.

City have held extensive talks with Burnley over a deal to bring the 25-year-old back to Ashton Gate following his encouraging loan spell in the second half of last season. A decision has been increasingly delayed, first by Burnley’s long search for a replacement for Vincent Kompany and now by Parker’s desire to control his team.

Twine trained at HPC in the off-season before returning to Gawthorpe Hall for the start of pre-season at the end of last month and is understood to be keen on a move back to City, be it a permanent or temporary move, but two years away remaining on his deal at Turf Moor, the decision is ultimately in their hands.

Burnley also play friendlies against Celtic, Hearts and Newcastle United, with a training camp in Spain that also includes a game against Cadiz on August 4, before the season opener eight days later at Luton Town.

Smith signs for Cambridge

Former City favorite Korey Smith has joined League One Cambridge United on a two-year deal following his release by Derby County following their promotion to the Championship.

Smith made 37 appearances for the Rams as they were promoted to the second tier, but the midfielder was denied a return to Ashton Gate in 2024/25 as Paul Warne decided not to extend his contract at Pride Park.

The 33-year-old remains a hugely popular figure in BS3 after making 196 appearances for the Robins, being part of the 2014/15 double-winning team and scoring the winner against Manchester United in the 2017 League Cup quarter-finals /18 at Ashton Gate.

Cambridge became Smith’s sixth professional club on a permanent basis, having played for Swansea City and Derby since leaving Ashton Gate in the summer of 2020.

“Korey is another signing of real pedigree, having spent the vast majority of his career in the Championship or fighting for promotion from League One,” said US boss Garry Monk. “He will add quality, experience and a winning mentality to the team. ”

Wollacott returns to England

Former City Academy goalkeeper Jojo Wollacott has been reunited with his former Swindon Town manager Scott Lindsey after signing a two-year deal with League One Crawley Town.

Bristol-born Wollacott spent eight years at the Robins Academy without making a first-team appearance before leaving on a free transfer to join Swindon and has since also played for Charlton Athletic and Hibernian, as well as he was capped 11 times for Ghana with one finger. injury that denied him a place at the 2022 World Cup.

But his time at Hibs was one to forget as he made just seven appearances last season and the 27-year-old has returned to the English pyramid.

“Unfortunately last season it didn’t work for me so I was looking for a solution,” Wollacott said. “I know Scott well from my time at Swindon and really enjoyed working with him, so it felt like a good fit. He gave a lot of information about how he wants the team to play, but also how he wants me to play, so hopefully we can continue to work well together.”

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