Yannick Bolasie asks to leave Bristol City as Crystal Palace wait to swoop

YANNICK Bolasie today rocked Bristol City by handing in a written transfer request.

A target for Championship rivals Crystal Palace, the 23-year-old winger feels he is not being given a fair crack of the whip by manager Derek McInnes and wants to leave Ashton Gate.

As revealed in the Evening Post last week, Palace boss Dougie Freedman is keen on the former Plymouth Argyle star and the south London club are prepared to offer up to £300,000 for his signature.

Negotiations between the two clubs have been on-going for two weeks now with City's board of directors demanding £500,000 for a player they signed just over a year ago for a bargain-basement fee of £20,000.

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But Bolasie's shock transfer request may now persuade them to drop their asking price in order to facilitate a quick sale before the transfer window closes at the end of August.

McInnes is not prepared to work with players who are not fully committed to the cause and Bolasie will play no part in Tuesday's home Championship clash against Crystal Palace at Ashton Gate.

This latest twist in what has become a long-running saga comes as something of a surprise, given that City last week categorically denied claims by Bolasie's agent, Tony Finnigan, that the winger had asked to leave Ashton Gate.

Bolasie had intended dropping his bombshell last Thursday, but changed his mind following a meeting with McInnes.

It seems today's sudden change of heart was prompted by his being left out of the squad altogether for yesterday's Championship opener at Nottingham Forest.

Although Bolasie travelled to the east Midlands with the rest of City's first team squad, he watched the game from the stands and then handed in his transfer request before training this morning.

Palace are now expected to firm up their interest with Bolasie insisting he wants to return to his native London.

Bolasie is in the final year of his contract and City's directors must decide whether to cash in now on a player whose value will diminish dramatically by the time the January transfer window swings open for business.

But they may have to drop their asking price if they are to avoid a repeat of the situation that saw star striker Nicky Maynard join West Ham United for a cut-price £1.65m earlier this year.

Leicester had offered in excess of £6m just five months earlier, but the Robins opted to keep hold of their most saleable asset, who then refused to sign a new contract and left for a fraction of that fee in January.

Should Bolasie fail to secure a move before August 31, McInnes will have a potentially awkward situation to manage.

Bolasie featured prominently in City's pre-season friendly fixtures and his transfer request has given City's manager an unwanted headache less than a week into the new season.

Signed by previous Robins manager Keith Millen, Bolasie made his debut in a 2-1 defeat at Leeds last September and was handed his first start by new boss McInnes the following month, helping City beat Burnley 2-1.

Most often used as an impact substitute, the flying winger made seven starts and came off the bench a further 16 times during the course of the season.

His status as a fans' favourite was confirmed when he scored a crucial winning goal in a relegation tussle against fellow strugglers Coventry at Ashton Gate on April 9.

Meanwhile, Albert Adomah's chances of securing a move to Premier League Swansea City appear to be receding.

The Ghana international winger has attracted interest from the Swans this summer and negotiations have been on-going.

Swansea made a verbal offer of £2m for the Londoner last week, but that figure does not match City's valuation, which is much closer to £3m.

Swans boss Michael Laudrup is losing patience and reports in West Wales suggest he is now turning his search to Spain and Valencia winger Pablo Hernandez.

Swansea representatives have checked on the availability of the 27-year-old Spanish international and Laudrup is keen to be reunited with a player he worked with during his spell in charge of Getafe in 2007/08.