Bristol City have been linked with Swindon’s Aston Villa loanee Finley Munroe as they aim to continue to strengthen this January

16:49, 12 Jan 2026Updated 16:54, 12 Jan 2026

Bristol City linked Finley Munroe in action for Swindon Town against Oldham Athletic(Image: Photo by Phill Smith/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Bristol City are aware of and monitoring Finley Munroe’s situation, Bristol Live understands, but the Robins are not yet believed to have submitted an offer for the Aston Villa defender who has been linked with a January move to Ashton Gate.

Reports emerged on Monday morning to suggest City and their Championship rivals Middlesbrough were ‘fighting’ to sign the Villans left-back, who is currently on loan in League Two with Swindon Town, with his temporary spell at the County Ground expected to be terminated.

Such an early end to the 20-year-old’s time in Wiltshire would allow Villa to sell Munroe permanently this winter. It had been reported that City had made a bid of around £350,000 to attempt to secure his services, while Boro are said to have submitted a similar offer.

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Although Bristol Live understands Munroe is on the radar of City this month, the Robins are not yet believed to have made a formal offer for the Swindon loanee. Gerhard Struber’s side are expected to, however, continue to monitor the defender’s situation this winter.

So far this term, Munroe has made 27 appearances for Swindon in all competitions, often featuring in a defence that has included Reds loanee Jamie Knight-Lebel.

In his time at the County Ground, the 20-year-old has scored twice and assisted on six separate occasions in League Two to help Ian Holloway’s side climb up into the automatic promotion places, with Swindon currently second after 24 games.

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Prior to joining his parent club, Aston Villa, the left-back came through Chelsea’s academy ranks. After leaving the Blues in 2021, he made the move to Villa Park, featuring regularly for the Villans’ Under-18s and Under-21s.

Munroe has made two appearances for the first team under the management of Unai Emery. His maiden, first-team outing came in the Europa Conference League when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in Villa’s semi-final defeat to Olympiakos, before he again featured from the bench against Crystal Palace in the Premier League in May 2024.

Before his loan spell with Swindon this term, the Ashton Gate-linked defender spent last term with Real Union, Villa’s sister club. In total, Munroe made 24 appearances and scored once in the third tier of Spanish football.

At this moment in time, the Robins’ ranks on the left side of defence are well-stocked with each of Cam Pring, Neto Borges, Rob Atkinson, Haydon Roberts, and Elijah Morrison fit and available.

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However, with Borges’ loan and Roberts’ contract set to expire this summer, it is possible that City view Munroe as a potential option for the future. When it comes to Morrison, Struber has been open about his feeling that the young defender would benefit from a loan spell away from Ashton Gate.

The City head coach is keen to add further to his squad this month, having already secured the signatures of Sam Morsy, Ranel Young and George Earthy. Speaking after the Reds’ FA Cup win over Watford, the Austrian made it clear that a new striker remained top of his wishlist, with reinforcements wanted to support Emil Riis and Sinclair Armstrong, particularly with Fally Mayulu currently sidelined by injury.

The Robins still have plenty of time to get any further business completed, with the window set to close on Monday, February 2.

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