Sources: Bristol City and Cardiff City race to sign Thorpe after he quit Tottenham and rejected new contract
Bristol City and Cardiff City are leading to chase to sign midfielder Elliot Thorpe after he severed all his ties with Tottenham, Football Insider can exclusively reveal.
The midfielder, 20, left Spurs when his contract expired at the end of June.
A recruitment source has told Football Insider that Championship duo Bristol City and Cardiff have registered their interest in signing Thorpe on a free transfer.
Clubs trying to buy the youngster had previously needed to pay compensation to Spurs, who had offered him a contract extension before his departure.
But Thorpe is now eligible to join a new club on a free transfer, absolving the need for any fee or compensation to be paid to his old team.
The central midfielder had come close to joining Bundesliga side Hoffenheim in July only for the deal to collapse at the eleventh hour.
The box-to-box midfielder was well regarded at Tottenham and looked close to a first-team breakthrough under old manager Jose Mourinho.
But he rejected a new contract from the London giants, as revealed by Football Insider on 28th May, in order to join a club where there is a clear first-team pathway.
There had previously been interest in Thorpe from Leicester City and Brentford.
But it now appears his most likely destination is the English Championship, with teams able to buy free agents outside of the transfer window.
Thorpe was called up by Wales Under-21s in June after making a big impression for the Spurs Under-23s, most notably scoring two goals in a game against Liverpool.
He spent two seasons with the Tottenham Under-18s, where he made 13 appearances, before graduating to the Under-23s, for whom he played 21 times.