Adebola set to sign for Bristol City

Last updated : 31 January 2008 By Ciderjar
The 6' 3" Nigerian striker is well known to City fans having scored at Ashton Gate in the 2-1 win over Coventry City on New Years Day. The fee is undisclosed however he is rated amongst the £1million strikers in the Championship. He brings the obvious aerial threat plus good strength on the ball. He is 32 years old however although this brings with it a lot of experience having played for Crewe, (including loan spells at Bangor and Northwich Victoria), Birmingham City, Oldham, Crystal Palace and Coventry City. Whilst at Coventry he was loaned to Burnley and Bradford City during 2004.

His time at Crewe between the ages of 17 and 23 would have been under the expert guidance of Dario Gradi; a key exponent of the art of nurturing youth players. He played 122 games for them scoring 39 goals.His time at Birmingham included an appearance in the 2001 League Cup Final, but his time there was ended by a knee injury shortly afterwards. He played 128 games for the Blue Noses scoring 29 times.
His career has only started to pick up again recently. Having been loaned to Oldham he joined Crystal Palace in 2002, then managed by Trevor Francis. He played 39 times for Palace but only scored 5 goals and a year later moved to Coventry City. Initially his form suffered and he was loaned to Burnley for the end of the 2003/04 season and then Bradford City at the start of 2004/05. Under Peter Reid and then Micky Adams he re-established himself as a first team regular. He has played 182 games scoring 36 goals including 6 from 30 starts this term. He scored 8 times last season at this level and 12 times in 2005/06. Whilst not the most impressive of returns his sheer presence creates chances for others.



























Other rumours suggesting Bristol City are about to put in an increased bid for Joe Garner of Carlisle are so far unsubstantiated, at 19 years old Garner would be signed as a more long term prospect and it may need to wait until the summer. Sky Sports are reporting a bid from City to bring Greek goalkeeper Stefanos Kotsolis to the club. He has appeared for Larissa in the UEFA Cup this season against Blackburn Rovers and Everton. The Greek club are the reported source of the rumours. Also reports of a cheeky bid for Burnleys Kyle Lafferty appear laughable now as they reject a £3 million bid from Celtic and are now considering a bid from Rangers.