Bobby De Cordova-Reid, who is currently on the books of Leicester City, was developed by his local club Bristol City until the club made a large investment in him in 2018.
De Cordova-Reid was born in the Easton district of Bristol and joined the Robins academy in 2002 before making his first team debut in 2011. After many loan spells and a standout Championship season, the versatile forward left Ashton Gate in 2018 to join the Premier League.
Following their promotion to the Premier League, Neil Warnock lost no time in moving De Cordova-Reid to Cardiff City, and while the move across the Severn was contentious, Bristol City earned a large £10 million price for the academy graduate.
Bobby De Cordova-Reid deserved his Premier League move.
Bristol City have recently produced some outstanding players. Alex Scott, Antoine Semenyo, Lloyd Kelly, and Tommy Conway are just a few examples from the Robins’ academy production line.
De Cordova-Reid is right up there with these names. The forward has had a successful career in the EFL and Premier League, and he has represented Jamaica 38 times since debuting for the national team in 2019.
When it comes to his time in the first team at Bristol City, his final season with the Robins stands out as his greatest, as he scored 19 goals and assisted seven times in the 2017/18 season to earn his Premier League move.
| De Cordova-Reid’s 17/18 stats – per Transfermarkt | ||
|---|---|---|
| Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| 46 | 19 | 7 |
Operating in a free role behind central striker Famara Diédhiou, the Jamaican has established himself as one of Lee Johnson’s key players.
Reid, who was flying high in second place going into the new year, scored the opening goal against league leaders Wolves. A win on that evening would have reduced the deficit at the top to five points going into the second half of the season. However, a late Ryan Bennett goal broke not just the Robins’ hearts on that day, but also their promotion hopes.
Bristol City trailed off in 2018, finishing 11th, prompting Cardiff City to sign De Cordova Reid after their promotion to the Premier League.
Controversial relocation to Cardiff earned Bristol City a lot of money.
While Bristol City and Cardiff each have their own significant rivalries in Bristol Rovers and Swansea City, the Severnside Derby between the Robins and the Bluebirds is one of the first games fans look forward to when the fixture list is announced.
After a successful 2017/18 season, a move to the Premier League was unquestionably justified.
However, Bristol City were put in a tough situation since Cardiff had offered a £10 million contract for the Jamaican.
Naturally, neither the club nor its supporters would have wished to sell an academy graduate to their competitors; nevertheless, from a different perspective, obtaining a £10 million fee for this academy graduate was simply good business.
De Cordova-Reid went on to score five goals and two assists in the Premier League, as Cardiff faced relegation after finishing 18th. The forward was expected to play a key role in Warnock’s Championship side, but he unexpectedly left to join promotion favourites Fulham ahead of the 2019/20 season.
After Fulham’s promotion to the Premier League in 2020, he made the transfer permanent and stayed there until 2024 before joining Leicester City.
| Bobby De Cordova-Reid’s Premier League stats | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Club | Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| Leicester City | 23 | 1 | 2 |
| Fulham | 102 | 15 | 5 |
| Cardiff City | 27 | 5 | |
Despite his Cardiff move not happening as anticipated, De Cordova-Reid went on to have a respectable top-flight career after leaving Bristol City.
While it may not have been the homegrown narrative that fans had hoped for at Ashton Gate, a £10 million agreement with Cardiff proved to be a brilliant piece of business for the Robins.
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