'A cut above' - What Bristol City can expect from Josh Stokes after loan away from Ashton Gate

Josh Stokes will be looking to make his mark in Bristol City colours after spending last season away from Ashton Gate on loan

18:45, 14 Jul 2025Updated 18:49, 14 Jul 2025

Josh Stokes spent last season on loan away from Bristol City(Image: Photo by Kevin Hodgson | MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

With another Championship-less weekend done and dusted, we are now less than four weeks away from the return of second tier domestic football in England and the start of Bristol City’s league season.

The Robins’ pre-season preparations are well underway. Having returned to the High Performance Centre for testing a little over two weeks ago, Gerhard Struber’s side have enjoyed a week of training at their Failand base and a week in the Algarve as they look to get up to speed so that they can hit the ground running against Sheffield United on August 11.

Last week’s warm-weather training camp was capped off with a behind-closed-doors game against SC Farense, who compete in the Portuguese second division. The Reds ran out 3-1 winners thanks to a goal from Mark Sykes and a Yu Hirakawa brace, with the match split into three 30-minute sections to allow players to rest and rotate accordingly.

Now, the friendlies come thick and fast in the run-up to the new campaign. Struber’s squad will have chances to impress the Austrian against Bournemouth, Newport County, Cheltenham Town, Plymouth Argyle and Real Valladolid as they try to win a place in the starting line-up at Bramall Lane.

Of course, as is often the case at this time of year, the majority of fans have been focused on the new signings and the potential impact they could have in red and white. The likes of Emil Riis and Adam Randell are expected to hit the ground running in BS3, while Joe Lumley looks set to be called into action early on following Max O’Leary’s injury.

However, there are also a handful of players returning to the West Country this summer after loan spells away last term. Defenders Rob Atkinson and Jamie Knight-Lebel will be looking to force their way into Struber’s thinking, as will attacking midfielder Josh Stokes.

The 21-year-old, who City signed from, and ultimately loaned immediately back to, Aldershot Town in January 2024, spent last season with Cambridge United in League One. While on the whole, it was a disappointing year for the U’s who were relegated out of the third tier, individually, it was a strong campaign for Stokes, who won both the club’s Player of the Season and Young Player of the Season awards, having scored eight goals in all competitions.

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That good form whilst away on loan has seen the young midfielder immediately rewarded with a new contract this summer, with his stay in south Bristol now extended until 2028. Although it isn’t clear just what the coming season holds for him, the majority of supporters are keen to see him in action, in red and white.

To get a better understanding of just what fans should expect from Stokes and the inside track on his loan spell with Neil Harris’ side, we caught up with Matt Ramsay, who covers Cambridge for the Press Association…

How would you sum up Josh Stokes’ loan spell?

An enormous success. In a very difficult season, which ended in relegation, Stokes was the clear bright spot. From the moment he made his debut, it was clear his quality would improve the U’s side, and he ended the campaign their joint top League One scorer despite missing nearly three months through injury.

What would you say his biggest strength was in his time at Cambridge?

He is the kind of player who doesn’t like to float in and out of games. He is always visibly demanding the ball, whether he’s dropping deep to collect it and set new attacks going, getting into positions to provide chances for forwards or arriving in dangerous positions himself to get on the end of opportunities.

On the other hand, was there anywhere you felt he lacked?

Despite his impressive return, he might feel that he could have chipped in with even more goals than the eight he managed in all competitions. He might expect chances to be harder to come by when playing in a higher division, so he will probably need to up his conversion rate to match his goal return.

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Gerhard Struber is expected to play a pressing system at Ashton Gate. Do you think Stokes is capable of playing in that way?

Stokes will clearly be a player doing most of his work at the top end of the pitch, so expect him to harry defenders. The fact that he has been handed a contract extension while still waiting for his Championship debut should be a sign that Bristol City think he’ll fit in well with their philosophy.

Having seen Stokes in action regularly, do you feel he’s ready for the Championship?

With Cambridge comfortably relegated, it isn’t saying too much to say that Stokes looked a cut above the U’s level, but a sign of his quality is that he often looked out of place in the division as a whole. Fans could see he was destined for bigger things and will hope he takes his opportunity to be successful back at Bristol City.

‘A cut above’ – What Bristol City can expect from Josh Stokes after loan away from Ashton Gate

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