Ayman Benarous was one of four senior players to depart Bristol City as a free agent this summerAyman Benarous in action for Bristol City U21s(Image: Photo by Rogan/Bristol City)

Former Bristol City academy graduate Ayman Benarous is reportedly “on trial” with League One’s Plymouth Argyle following his Ashton Gate release last month.

According to Football Insider’s Pete O’Rourke, the attacking midfielder has linked up with Tom Cleverley’s Greens for a trial period as he looks to breathe new life into his career after a frustrating few seasons in red and white.

Benarous joined the Robins’ academy as a seven-year-old and managed to break into the first-team set-up under the management of Nigel Pearson in the 2021/22 campaign.

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The former City boss handed the then-teenager his debut against Barnsley in October 2021 before he put together a run of three consecutive starts, including a game against Blackburn Rovers at Ashton Gate, just a month later.

In that meeting with Rovers, Benarous quickly endeared himself to the Ashton Gate faithful when he kicked Ben Brereton Diaz’s boot away having beaten the Chilean international to a header inside his own box.

Throughout the remainder of his debut campaign, the youngster was in and out of matchday squads, but never too far away from the fold, even signing a three-year deal in February 2022. Towards the end of the season though, he suffered the first of two successive ACL injuries.

While Benarous was able to recover from both injuries to take part in parts of the Reds’ pre-season last summer, he sustained a hamstring issue whilst playing for City’s Under-21s in August which limited him to the treatment table for much of the campaign.

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Ultimately, the 21-year-old was able to feature for the Young Robins at the back end of the season having undergone an operation which “God willing” would put an end to his injury woes.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to see him rewarded with a new contract and Benarous was released at the end of the season alongside Stefan Bajic, Kal Naismith and eventually Nahki Wells.

Should Benarous earn a contract with Argyle this summer, he will link up with both former Watford boss Cleverley and ex-Bristol City fan favourite Jamie Paterson at Home Park as the Greens look to make an immediate return to the Championship having been relegated to League One last term.

There is also a chance the 21-year-old could face his former club in pre-season. Gerhard Struber’s Reds are set to travel to Home Park for their final pre-season friendly on Saturday, July 26.

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