Bristol City have confirmed that Ephraim Yeboah has departed Ashton Gate on loan for the remainder of the season, with the young forward joining Dunfermline on a temporary basis.
The youngster made his City debut under the management of Nigel Pearson last season, featuring off of the bench in 10 separate Championship games, before spending the second half of the campaign on loan with Bath City in the National League South.
After a mixed spell at Twerton Park, the teenager returned to the West Country for the start of pre-season before heading back out on loan to League Two this time with Doncaster Rovers. Although Yeboah had some success with Grant McCann’s side in the Football League Trophy, he struggled to play regular minutes in the league and his spell with Rovers was cut short prematurely in December.
Since returning to Ashton Gate, the young forward has featured for the Reds’ Under-21 side in January. But the increased competition for places in Liam Manning’s first team has meant that he has not even been able to make the City bench, with the Robins boss admitting earlier in January he still had a “huge” amount of work to do.
“He obviously didn’t get the minutes that he would have wanted to at Doncaster,” Manning told Bristol Live. “He’s one that we’re quite clear about, he’s still so young, he’s experienced a lot so young, he still needs a huge amount of work which knowing him, his attitude and his application, he’ll come in and do his very, very best. It’s about now, brushing up on the areas that are going to help him get in and around the first team.”
The temporary move to the Scottish Championship should give the 18-year-old another opportunity to develop his skillset at a competitive level while also gaining further experience of being in a first-team changing room, as explained by Brian Tinnion.
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“Ephraim is an exciting young player,” said the Reds’ technical director. “This spell in the Scottish Championship is a good way for him to experience a first-team environment at a good level.”
Dunfermline currently sit ninth in the Scottish Championship, 10 points above bottom-of-the-table Airdrieonians but still in the relegation play-off position. Michael Tidser will hope that the addition of Yeboah can help his side pull away from the relegation battle at the foot of the table.