Northern Ireland under-21 international Rory Holden has signed a new two-year deal with Championship outfit Bristol City.
The club also have a further 12-month option on the attacking midfielder who began his career at Derry City before earning a move to the Robins in the summer of 2017.
Last term Holden spent time away from Ashton Gate gaining valuable first-team experience following loan spells with National League side Barrow AFC and Rochdale in League One.
City boss Lee Johnson admits that Holden may take a little while to fulfil his undoubted promise though and further periods out on-loan next season are a strong possibility.
“Rory’s 21 but really he’s probably 18 in terms of physical development so who knows what he’s going to come back like,” said Johnson.
“I don’t want to restrict that development by buying two or three in a position and all of a sudden Rory is surplus to requirements.”
Holden made an instant impact when he scored the winner on his debut for Ian Baraclough’s under-21 side in the 1-0 friendly win over Luxembourg last September.
