Bristol City struck gold with £1m transfer - He's outscoring Nahki Wells | OneFootball

Bristol City are reaping the rewards of being patient with Anis Mehmeti.

Now firmly in their ninth consecutive season in the Championship, Bristol City arguably have their best chance to break their long-standing play-off duck.

At the top of the division, four teams are pulling away from the pack, but just below them, a cluster of clubs are vying for a chance to enter that top six, with no team yet managing to assert dominance.

Blackburn Rovers, Middlesbrough, Bristol City, West Brom, and Coventry City are just a few of the clubs in the hunt, and with a third of the season remaining, a strong run of form could be enough to secure a play-off spot.

The Robins have been the epitome of a mid-table side since rejoining the second tier in 2015-16, and aside from one eighth-placed finish, they've consistently finished outside the top ten in every other campaign.

If this season is to be any different, one man could prove to be the key: Anis Mehmeti. The Albanian winger joined Bristol City in January 2023, but his early days at Ashton Gate were somewhat underwhelming.

However, this year, he has truly come into his own, becoming the Robins' top scorer and outshining experienced forward Nahki Wells in the process.

His form is crucial to the Robins' play-off aspirations, and they will need him at his best if they are to edge out their rivals for one of those final two spots.

Anis Mehmeti has slowly become a Bristol City star

Prior to his time at BS3, Mehmeti was a brilliant performer for Wycombe Wanderers, and in the first half of the 2022-23 season, he was giving League One defenders real headaches. A dynamic dribbler, he notched up nine goals and three assists in 27 appearances, which led to Bristol City making a move for the winger.

Matching a buyout clause of £1 million, City gave the Chairboys a club-record fee for the Albanian, but initially, he struggled to make an impact.

Coming in mid-season is never easy, and he didn’t quite make the step-up as smoothly as hoped. Last season followed a similar pattern, but we started to see flashes of his quality, with standout performances against top teams like Ipswich Town and Leicester City. Still, he only managed to start 21 games and his four goals and one assist weren't representative of his ability.

Fortunately, this year he has been in superb form, and after 30 appearances, he has already scored 11 goals in the league, making him the joint fourth-highest scorer in the division.

Past his prowess in front of goal, he has been exceptional in all aspects of the attacking third, with the left-winger completing 32 successful dribbles, registering 134 touches in the opposition box, and posting an expected assists figure of 3.97.

This arguably makes him City's most pivotal player, alongside the likes of Jason Knight, Scott Twine and Rob Dickie, all of whom have been in brilliant form this season.

Anis Mehmeti and Scott Twine could push them into the play-offs

Mehmeti has certainly stood out with his goals, but his attacking partner on the right wing, Scott Twine, has also been in excellent form.

The 25-year-old arguably has the best right foot in the division and his ability to create chances and score free kicks is something that gives the Robins that extra edge.

With strikers Wells and Sinclair Armstrong primarily used as hold-up players, the responsibility falls on the wingers and midfielders to provide the goals for Bristol City. Mehmeti and Twine have so far contributed 20 times, and you would want them to continue building on that in the final weeks of the season.

If they can continue their strong form, then Bristol City will be firmly in the fight and could finally end their long-awaited entrance into the play-offs.