Or Jay Simpson!Bristol Evening Post Tuesday, August 03,
City target Arsenal's Simpson and Emmanuel-Thomas
Bristol City are targeting young Arsenal star-in-the-making Jay Simpson.Robins boss Steve Coppell urgently needs to recruit cover for injured strikers Nicky Maynard and Danny Haynes, and City have made an enquiry for the talented Arsenal Academy product.
The 54-year-old Liverpudlian has also expressed an interest in Arsenal's England Under-19 international Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, the teenage midfielder who destroyed City's defence while on loan at Doncaster Rovers last season.
So far, talks have been restricted to agent level, but Coppell is expected to step up his interest before the new Championship season kicks off.
Haynes and Maynard are likely to be sidelined for a number of weeks after missing City's pre-season programme and Coppell has made signing a striker a priority ahead of Saturday's opening-day clash with newly-promoted Millwall at Ashton Gate.
Sources at the Emirates Stadium suggest Emmanuel-Thomas figures in Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger's plans for the new season, but Simpson is understood to be available for loan.
Although the Londoner recently signed a long-term contract at the Emirates Stadium, new Premier League rules limiting squad sizes to 25 players will almost certainly force Wenger to loan out some of his emerging stars.
Under the new rules, big clubs will increasingly make surplus players more attractive as loan targets by paying part of their salaries when they take short-term deals with other clubs.
A robust forward with an eye for goal, Simpson is no stranger to the Championship, having played 39 times for Queens Park Rangers last season. He also spent a season on loan at Millwall in 2007-08, making 41 appearances for the Lions, and played 13 times for West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League in 2009.
Simpson made his Arsenal first team debut in a 6-0 win over Sheffield United in the Carling Cup, coming on as a substitute in the 71st minute. He scored his first two senior Arsenal goals against Wigan Athletic in the same competition in November 2008 in what was his first senior start for the club
But the 21-year-old faces an uphill battle to force his way into Premier League reckoning and will drop further down the pecking order at Arsenal when World Cup stars Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie report back for pre-season training this week.
Given the limited number of places available in a hugely-talented squad which includes the likes of Andrei Arshavin, Nicklas Bendtner, Carlos Vela and Marouane Chamakh, Simpson is likely to be allowed to gain further experience in the English second tier, with City among those clubs willing to give him the opportunity.
Former England youth international Emmanuel-Thomas will be familiar to a majority of City fans, who will recall his scintillating performance for Doncaster Rovers at Ashton Gate in March.
Deployed in an advanced role behind a lone striker, the 19-year-old ripped City's defence to shreds, scoring twice and creating another two goals as Sean O'Driscoll's team meted out a 5-2 thrashing to hasten the departure of Robins manager Gary Johnson.
Coppell has since watched a video re-run of the game and believes Emmanuel-Thomas could do a job for City in the Championship this season.
Like Simpson, London-born Emmanuel-Thomas recently signed a long-term contract at the Emirates Stadium.
Emmanuel-Thomas also knows the Championship, having made 24 appearances during loan spells with Blackpool and Doncaster last term.
Coppell is also in the market for a left-sided defender-cum-midfielder and this week promises to be another busy one in the transfer market for City, who signed England goalkeeper David James and experienced defenders Damion Stewart and Nicky Hunt last Friday.
As revealed in the Post last month, City have enquired as to the availability of Chelsea left-back Ryan Bertrand. But their interest has since cooled and Coppell is understood to be directing his search elsewhere.
www.thisisbristol.co.uk/bristolcitynews/City-target-Arsenal-s-Simpson-Emmanuel-Thomas/article-2483201-detail/article.html
