Bristol City: Steve Lansdown urged to back Gerhard Struber in January as potential £11m Antoine Semenyo windfall looms | OneFootball

FLW's Bristol City fan pundit wants to see money spent, even if they don't see any money from an Antoine Semenyo sale come in

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…

There arguably hasn't been a bigger breakout star in the Premier League this season than Bournemouth's Antoine Semenyo, and Bristol City fans are getting excited over what that may mean for them.

The Ghanaian, who was bought by the Cherries from Ashton Gate in January 2023 for around £10 million, signed a new contract in the summer, which has a reported £65 million release clause that becomes active in January.

After a campaign which has, so far, seen the 25-year-old emerge as one of the more exciting players in the top flight, there are murmurs around some of the traditional big boys coming in for Bournemouth's star - although manager Andoni Iraola isn't worried about this speculation.

If he is sold, though, Bristol City will receive 20 per cent of the profits, which would equate to around £11 million.

After a summer window where the Robins were relatively quiet in terms of arrivals, some Bristol City fans believe that if that windfall does come this January, there must be some improvements in the squad, as Gerhard Struber has maintained the promotion aspirations felt under Liam Manning last season.

Tom Sandy, FLW's Robins fan pundit, believes that these squad improvements should be coming anyway, regardless of whether an extra £11 million finds its way to the club.

Bristol City fan pundit expects new arrivals this January to help Gerhard Struber

Bristol City only brought in five players this summer, six if Yu Hirakawa's loan deal being made permanent is included in there, too. Of those, only Adam Randell cost a fee, and two of the deals were for goalkeepers.

Sandy feels that there should be money to be spent anyway, and is confident that it will be, after Struber said in late October that owner Steve Lansdown was "hungry" and that he was "searching for the moment for one or two players who can help us."

So, irrespective of whether Semenyo does get bought this January, there should be some money expected to be thrown around at the Ashton Gate-based club.

"If Semenyo's transfer does happen in January, which, in fairness, Iraola has said he doesn't expect will happen, but if it does, it'll be a big boost," Sandy told FLW.

"Gerhard Struber has alluded to the fact that he's been in talks with the Lansdowns, and we should expect a lot more action than we got in the summer, which makes sense as he now understands his squad a lot more.

"He's been stretched very thin over the last few months, so he knows the positions we need."

On who the Robins should target, Sandy believes that it should be in places where squad depth is either low or perhaps not to the standard needed to maintain a promotion push.

"With Luke McNally out for the season, we may need a centre-back," Tom continued.

"With Fally Mayulu and Harry Cornick as our reserve strikers, we'll probably look to bring in a striker, too.

"And then someone to back up Scott Twine and Anis Mehmeti if they get injured. We have the likes of Josh Stokes and Adam Randell, who can come into that role, but Stokes can get injured too, and Randell has been used at wing-back for most of the season.

"So I do think we'll spend some money in those areas and, to be honest, we desperately need that depth to continue to push."

Bristol City fan pundit places emphasis on squad depth as Robins look to continue promotion bid

Bristol City have performed exceptionally to still be in and around the top six as we head into December, given the outstanding circumstances they've had to navigate with injuries.

The likes of Randell, Mehmeti and Zak Vyner have started every game so far this season for Gerhard Struber, and Emil Riis, Twine and Rob Dickie aren't that far behind, either, in terms of games played.

Struber's side has suffered a little dip in form, perhaps due to player burnout, and Sandy hopes that depth, and the quality of depth, will be sorted this winter.

"You look at who is out now, Hayden Roberts having to start at this level isn't something that City fans are particularly happy about, and George Tanner's having to play a more progressive role," he explained. "And whilst he's a great defender, he lacks confidence growing forward.

"As for the rest of the team, Mehmeti needs a rest. He's so explosive and really creative, but perhaps has been limited due to fatigue.

"So depth is massive for us at the moment. We as fans knew that if things improved, we could bring in improvements, and while that was specifically about the forward line, I can see it being all over the pitch, too.

"So, any investment will improve our promotion chances this season. At the moment, we're pushing up towards the top of the table, and we're performing well even in games where we don't pick up results.

"So I think depth could be a massive contributor to any success we have this year."

Not many people expected Bristol City to go from strength to strength post-Liam Manning, but under Struber, the Robins have a real opportunity to land in the play-offs once again.

They'll need to make sure they can go at 100% during the long stretches towards the end of the campaign, and adding depth to the squad will be a key feature if they do.