"Weren't adding up" - Confused Bristol City reaction to Brian Tinnion's Sinclair Armstrong claim | OneFootball

FLW's Bristol City fan pundit gives his take on whether the club should have cashed in on Sinclair Armstrong in the previous window.

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 summer signing Sinclair Armstrong has not yet lived up to expectations but looks now to be finding his feet.

Making the move to Ashton Gate for a fee just under £2 million, he has so far managed three goals in 24 appearances and has struggled to displace Nahki Wells for much of the season.

However, in recent weeks, he has demonstrated potential with impressive performances, even without finding the back of the net, against the likes of Swansea City and Cardiff City.

This potential has supposedly been recognised by other clubs, with Bristol City technical director and former player Brian Tinnion revealing in an interview with the BBC that the striker is now valued at a higher figure than the fee they initially paid.

"Sinclair is developing well," he said.

"Sinclair we could have sold for double our money in January. He is one of the most wanted young strikers around because he is powerful, he's quick, he gets people turned around, he runs in behind and that is what we were looking for.

"They aren't all going to hit off straight away, but we knew that we had the experience in Nahki."

Bristol City pundit surprised by Sinclair Armstrong claim

Clearly, the club have high expectations that Armstrong will develop into a good striker for them in the future. To gauge whether supporters share this view or feel he should have been sold in January, Football League World spoke to their resident Robins pundit, Jack Buchanan.

"We simply couldn't have sold Sinclair Armstrong for £3 million," said Jack.

"His recent performances have been very good, and I think he is fairly sought after as he is fast, strong and direct, but he can't finish. He has scored three goals for us this season.

"Tinnion claimed that we could have doubled our money and also claimed that we could have sold Fally Mayulu to loads of clubs, but instead we loaned him out to Sturm Graz. Things just weren't adding up with what he was saying.

"I don't think, realistically, we could have sold him for £3 million, and there weren't any rumours that anyone came in for him. Where Tinnion has got that from, I don't know, unless someone did come in with an offer, but it feels unlikely."

Liam Manning needs more from Armstrong in the final third

If Bristol City have aspirations of breaking their play-off duck in the Championship, they will need one of their strikers to start contributing on a more consistent basis.

Combined, Wells and Armstrong have only managed 10 goals between them, which is fewer than winger Anis Mehmeti, who has netted 11 so far this term. The onus can't rest solely on the Albanian, and someone else will need to step up to help him lead the frontline.

Undoubtedly, Armstrong's hold-up play is a great asset that aids City's attack, but when he gets opportunities, he must ensure he takes them as strikers for other play-off hopefuls won't be so forgiving.

The next couple of months are crucial for the 21-year-old's future and if he can begin finding goals on a regular basis, then that £3 million figure may just become a more realistic price tag.