Bristol City have been told they will have to increase their offer to sign Crawley defender Kyle McFadzean.

New City boss Sean O’Driscoll said he wanted to complete McFadzean’s proposed move to Ashton Gate “as quickly as possible” yesterday after taking over from the sacked Derek McInnes.

O’Driscoll is familiar with McFadzean from his short period in charge at Crawley during the summer and is keen to continue the negotiations for the 25-year-old which were started by his predecessor last week.

City are currently the only club in the running for McFadzean’s signature after Reds rejected an offer from another Championship outfit – believed to be Bolton Wanderers – last week.

However, Reds chief executive Richard Low says the Robins will have to raise their initial bid – thought to be in the region of £500,000 – if they want to secure the services of the former England C international who signed a new three-year contract at the start of the season.

Low said: “I wouldn’t say we are near a deal at the moment. We are fairly close in terms of valuation but it is not a done deal by any means.

“They have made a good offer but it is not what we want. We would be happy to keep Kyle and he is happy to stay so it is up to them to meet what we want. We won’t sell him unless we get what we think he is worth.

“There is one other club who are not that far away but they have said they won’t go any further. Bristol are certainly the most aggressive in terms of their interest but whether they get him is dependant on offering what we want. The ball is in their court.”

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