![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0_Ayman.jpg\")
Ayman Benarous in action for Bristol City Under-21s(Image: Photo by Rogan\/Bristol City)<\/p>\nPlymouth Argyle boss Tom Cleverley has provided an update on former Bristol City academy graduate Ayman BenarousAyman Benarous in action for Bristol City Under-21s(Image: Photo by Rogan\/Bristol City)<\/p>\n
Plymouth Argyle boss Tom Cleverley has confirmed that Ayman Benarous has been offered a contract at Home Park after the midfielder was released by Bristol City<\/a> at the end of last season.<\/p>\n The 21-year-old was one of three senior players, alongside Kal Naismith and Stefan Bajic, confirmed to be departing Ashton Gate as a free agent when the Reds published their retained list<\/a> earlier this summer, with Nahki Wells joining the trio just last week.<\/p>\n Having joined the Robins’ youth system when he was just seven years old, Benarous broke into City’s first team under the management of Nigel Pearson<\/a> in the 2021\/22 campaign. After making 12 appearances that season and putting pen to paper on a new three-year deal in February of 2022, the versatile midfielder suffered the first of two successive ACL injuries.<\/p>\n READ MORE: How Sinclair Armstrong and Fally Mayulu can benefit from latest Bristol City summer signing<\/a>READ MORE: Ex-Bristol City striker explains what would put ‘icing on the cake’ of Robins’ transfer window<\/a><\/p>\n Various other fitness issues, the latest of which was a hamstring injury sustained whilst playing for the Robins’ Under-21s side last August, have meant that the academy graduate hasn’t made a competitive appearance in more than three years. However, having taken part in the final matches of the Young Robins’ season, Benarous has been on trial with Argyle<\/a> and done enough to earn a contract offer.<\/p>\n “We have made an offer to him,” Cleverley told our sister publication, Plymouth Live<\/a>. “If you want to know what kind of player I like, what style of player I like, then he falls into that mould absolutely.<\/p>\n “He has been very impressive in his trial period. He has had fitness issues in the past, that he looks like he’s over. In all the physical work we have done, he has been really competitive and at the front of that.<\/p>\n “He’s a player that for sure, there is a little bit of risk attached with his injury history, but the quality he has shown in the last week far outweighs that risk in my opinion. We will be delighted if we can come to a deal on that one.<\/p>\n “He’s the perfect example of one of those versatile players,” the Argyle boss continued. “He came through at Bristol City as a left-footed right winger.<\/p>\n “He made his debut as a left wing-back. He’s a player who has got a great football brain. Most of the time, those players can fill in more than one or two positions. He gives us that versatility and quality for sure.”<\/p>\n Join Bristol City Live’s Whatsapp community for all the biggest Bristol City stories sent straight to your phone<\/strong><\/p>\n Bristol City Live<\/a> is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our community.<\/p>\n Through the app, we\u2019ll send the Bristol City news, live match coverage, team news, transfers, fixtures, analysis and more straight to your phone.<\/p>\n To join our community you need to already have WhatsApp. All you need to do is click this link and select \u2018Join Community\u2019.<\/a><\/p>\n No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Bristol Live<\/a> team.<\/p>\n We also treat community members to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. If you don\u2019t like our community, you can check out at any time you like.<\/p>\n To leave our community, click on the name at the top of your screen and choose \u2018Exit group\u2019.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.<\/a><\/p>\n Click here to join our WhatsApp community.<\/a><\/p>\n Argyle are looking to make an immediate return to the Championship this term, having been relegated from the second tier last time out. After a poor start to the campaign under Wayne Rooney<\/a>, an upturn in form following the arrival of Miron Muslic was enough to keep Plymouth in with an incredibly slim chance of survival on the final day of the regular season.<\/p>\n A 2-1 home defeat to eventual champions Leeds United<\/a> and results elsewhere, however, meant the Greens finished 23rd, three points adrift of Hull City and safety.<\/p>\n Following relegation, Muslic departed Home Park to take over the reins at Schalke and was swiftly replaced by former Watford boss Cleverley, who had been sacked by the Hornets despite achieving a 14th-place finish at Vicarage Road.<\/p>\n Should Benarous opt to sign the contract offered to him by the League One club, he will not only work under the former Manchester United midfielder, but he could also line up alongside former City fan favourite Jamie Paterson<\/a>, who joined Argyle as a free agent earlier this summer.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Andi Weimann opens up over Bristol City departure 18 months on from final Robins appearance<\/a>READ MORE: Sky Sports EFL pundit makes Emil Riis goal prediction after ‘surprise’ Bristol City switch<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Plymouth Argyle boss Tom Cleverley has provided an update on former Bristol City academy graduate Ayman BenarousAyman Benarous…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":237978,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8818],"tags":[381,2686,748,393,4884,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-237977","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bristol","8":"tag-bristol","9":"tag-bristol-city-fc","10":"tag-britain","11":"tag-england","12":"tag-great-britain","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114796187131143579","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237977","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=237977"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237977\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/237978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=237977"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=237977"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=237977"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0_WhatsApp-Phone.jpg\")
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