Oxford United appear to have a fight on their hands to hold onto Callum O’Dowda.
The 21-year-old winger made his debut for the Republic of Ireland at the end of May, in an impressive substitute appearance against Belarus, and reportedly came close to joining Derby County last January.
In addition to international recognition, O’Dowda starred for Oxford last season, scoring 10 goals in 50 appearances and helping secure the side’s promotion to League One.
The Oxford-born winger has yet to join his teammates on pre-season training, fuelling speculation he’s primed for a move away, but Oxford manager Michael Appleton has said the club are desperate to keep him.
Oxford's manager has had his say on Callum O'Dowda potentially leaving the club https://t.co/yMx5d68Toi
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) July 11, 2016
“From my point of view it’s very clear – we don’t want to sell Callum,” Appleton said.
“We thought he had a good season last year, he came to the fore and got better the longer the season went on.
“It culminated in picking up an international appearance, which was great for everybody. We’re looking forward to him being a big part of our League One push this year.”
However, according to The Oxford Mail, interest in O’Dowda is heating up and Bristol City are ready to make an approach for the winger.
The Championship side finished 18th last season, and Derrick Williams, a former Irish U21 international, is currently at the club.
The Oxford Mail report that Bristol will test Oxford’s resolve to hold onto O’Dowda with a “seven figure” bid. Derby are understood to have had a £1m bid for the player accepted in January.
Oxford recently lost Kemar Roofe to Leeds United for £3m, and could possibly be tempted if they received a similar sum for O’Dowda.
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