It seems that Bristol City are bracing for a hectic finale to the ongoing January transfer window with their captain and leader Josh Brownhill subject to a lot of interest from the English top-flight.

According to an exclusive report from Bristol Post, Burnley, Sheffield United and Leicester City are leading the chase for Robins’ key man but it remains to be seen whether any of the clubs will actually manage to land their target.

This is reinforced even more by Bristol Post’s revelation that Brownhilll has a release clause in his contract that would allow teams to scoop him up for a fixed fee of around £7m in the summer window.

But who exactly is Brownhill and what would he possibly bring to the Blades?

To answer those questions, we sought the opinions of those who know him best…

Ashley Williams, Bristol City player

Williams is just one of the players over at Bristol City who has publicly lathered praise on his captain.

When talking about his friend, Williams mentioned how Brownhill is the life of the whole team but he is also a mature kind of player, and that helps him to be the best possible captain he can be.

Here’s what he said for Bristol City’s official website:

“I think he’s the life of the team.

“From what I’ve seen, when Browny plays well so do the team. He’s got that little bit of pressure but that’s what good players get.

“He’s done brilliant as a captain. He’s young in terms of being a captain but he has a mature character about him. I really enjoy playing with him and he’s the life of this team.”

Lee Johnson, Bristol City manager

Of course, it didn’t really take long for Brownhill to make an impression on Lee Johnson as the gaffer of the Robins heaped praise on the captain, highlighting all of his best traits in the process.

He mentions his defensive abilities when listing his strengths and also implies that he was perceived as a superstar in the making even when he first arrived at Barnsley on loan.

Here’s what he said in full, as quoted by FourFourTwo:

“I could see when I first took him to Barnsley on loan that he was a superstar in the making. He has to go down as one of the value signings in Bristol City’s history.

“He still has slight areas he needs to improve on and he knows that. But in terms of workrate and honesty – he can tackle, he gets up and down and he’s bright in terms of his football brain. He epitomises what I want a Lee Johnson Bristol City identity to be.”

Simon Grayson, Brownhill’s manager at Preston North End

Grayson was the one who gave Brownhill his debut back in the day when the young player was still playing at Preston North End.

Even though they were not completely sure what to think about him, he quickly started turning heads.

The gaffer said the current Bristol captain was a bit of a mystery but through his sheer will and determination, he managed to climb the ladder and achieve success.

Here’s what Grayson said to BBC Radio Lancashire back in 2013:

“He looked very composed with the ball, got into good areas in advanced areas and was in the right place at the right time. It’s a debut he’ll remember for a long time.

“I’ll be honest – I didn’t know a great deal about the lad. We had him with us a couple of times last year and thought he was OK, but did we seriously think he was going to be in the first team within the first four months of the season? No, but there are opportunities for any player.

“Josh is a good example for any of our academy players. If they do well and impress, they’ll get an opportunity in the first team. I’m not frightened of playing young kids because if they’re good enough, they’ll play.”

Verdict

Needless to say, and judging by what those close to Brownhill have said, he certainly looks like a good option for Sheffield United.

And with the now revealed release clause in his contract, there is a chance that Robins’ captain might be heading into the top-flight very soon.