"My only concern" - Bristol City urged not to destroy "fantastic" part of Liam Manning's squad | OneFootball

FLW's Bristol City fan pundit doesn't want to see player sales in January

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Bristol City have been warned to avoid sanctioning any transfer outgoings in the January window in order to maintain the strong squad depth currently at Liam Manning's disposal.

The Robins currently have a reasonably-large Championship squad, which is particularly well-stocked in the forward department. You could quite well argue that there is competition for places in every area of the pitch, a factor which should keep each player on their toes as the season continues to wear on.

Despite having a host of players out on the treatment table, including the likes of Scott Twine and Joe Williams, City haven't been hampered one bit and head into the international break in strong form, having lost just one of their previous ten matches.

As ever, they're almost smack-bang in the middle of the league table but are just three points off the play-offs and will be hoping to ruffle a few feathers and force their way into the top-six reckoning after the break, from which they'll return to a crunch showdown against Burnley at Ashton Gate on November 23.

Bristol City urged to not let squad players leave in the January transfer window

We asked our Bristol Cityfan pundit, Tom Sandy, to name one concern he has for the January transfer window, which will commence in less than two months' time.

Tom is feeling rather optimistic at the minute and has precious few issues, although he would be concerned if some of City's squad players sought departures following the turn of the year - a scenario which he is very keen to avoid.

The squad depth is currently a real strong point for Robins, and it was lauded by star winger Anis Mehmeti following Saturday's 2-0 victory at Norwich City. The Albanian believes his side have the requisite squad depth to be a "top team", and it would be a huge shame for the Ashton Gate side if they were to lose some of that in the next window.

"The one concern I have for the January transfer window coming up is just losing depth," Tom told Football League World.

"This season more than any other season in recent years, our depth is fantastic. We've got a lot of players out right now - Scott Twine, Joe Williams, Kal Naismith, George Tanner, Ross McCrorie, yet we've got players stepping up and filling those roles so well that I don't think those first-team players are going to get back into the team easily.

"I don't see how we could start Twine over [Max] Bird, [Yu] Hirakawa, Mehmeti, the way they played against Norwich. Mark Sykes, I don't think, is anywhere near the squad right now except for maybe coming in at right-wing-back, but George Earthy is filling in for the injured right-backs.

"I think our depth this season has been fantastic and if we were to lose that in January from players thinking that maybe they deserve more playing time, I think that could impact our season negatively.

"But that would be my only major concern because we have a lot of depth and even if we lose key players, we'll be able to replace them. I don't think we're looking likely to lose key players either, because I think a lot of the players we've got are new and committed to the project."

Bristol City may have Anis Mehmeti, January transfer window concern

Should the aforementioned Mehmeti continue firing on all cylinders, then the prospect of seeing him prized away may become pronounced. The tricky 23-year-old evidently possesses vast talent, although he's only just beginning to deliver on a consistent basis at Bristol City.

There have been peaks and troughs for Mehmeti ever since his hotly-anticipated switch from Wycombe Wanderers in January 2023, but he's now showcasing why there was such excitement surrounding his arrival in the first place.

Extremely quick and direct, Mehmeti is one of the most dangerous one-v-one wingers in the Championship and is now adding end product to his game too, having already equalled last season's return of four goals after just 14 matches this time around.

The winger has found the back of the net three times in his last four starts, and was inspired all afternoon as City won away at Carrow Road over the weekend.

Still only 23, Mehmeti's stock is growing and it perhaps wouldn't come as too much of a surprise if a club higher up decided to test the waters in January. The Robins have garnered a reputation as a selling club, of course, with the likes of Adam Webster, Alex Scott, Antoine Semenyo and Bobby Decordova-Reid all returning significant fees in years gone by.

It's quickly looking like Mehmeti is the next asset off the production line and that's bound to give City some concern - should he continue his current vein.