Leicester City should look to test Bristol City’s transfer resolve in January for 5-goal playmaker | OneFootball

With Anis Mehmeti's contract expiring at Ashton Gate, Leicester City should be looking at an unsettling move for the Albanian playmaker

After a frustrating opening to the Championship campaign following their relegation from the Premier League last season, Leicester City will likely head into the January transfer window in touch with the leading promotion contenders in the second-tier, but with a need for more in their squad.

The Foxes have a strong squad with good pedigree throughout it, but they still lack a bit of creativity in the final third of the pitch, and so they should seek to test the resolve of Bristol City over key man Anis Mehmeti.

The East Midlands outfit still have lingering doubts around a potential points deduction from the EFL, but, even if that is imposed, they should remain in a good position for a tilt at the top six and the play-off places in the second-half of the campaign.

Following the appointment of Marti Cifuentes, Leicester were limited in their business in the summer transfer window, despite the departures of several experienced first-teamers.

They could only bring in free agent goalkeeper Asmir Begovic before transfer deadline day, which saw the loan signings of Julian Carranza, Jordan James and Aaron Ramsey from Feyenoord, Stade Rennais and Burnley, respectively.

Ramsey was expected to provide some added impetus in the final third but the fairly system-led and rigid approach of Cifuentes has shackled a lot of their attack – but that probably wouldn’t be the case for Mehmeti, who appears an ideal fit for the King Power Stadium.

Bristol City are running out of time to cash in on Anis Mehmeti

As one of the best run clubs in the EFL, Bristol City have steadily progressed into being a top-half team in the Championship who reached the play-offs last season, with smart recruitment and good business off the field.

That has often led the Robins to selling players for major profits in the last half a decade or so, with the likes of Tommy Conway, Lloyd Kelly, Alex Scott and Antoine Semenyo all among those to have made money for City in recent years.

Anis Mehmeti, who joined from Wycombe Wanderers for what was a club-record sale by the Chairboys, took his time to get settled at Ashton Gate, but has emerged as one of the very best attacking midfielders in the second tier so far this season.

The 24-year-old Islington-born Albania international was a perfect fit for Liam Manning’s 3-4-2-1 system in 2024-25, and he has continued to form an excellent partnership as one of two so-called ‘number tens’ alongside Scott Twine for Gerhard Struber this season.

With five goals and six assists in the Championship, including a hat-trick of the latter in their recent 3-0 defeat of Swansea City, Mehmeti is one of the most productive attacking players in the division.

However, an issue for City as they approach the winter window is that he is out of contract next summer and, given how reluctant they often are to allow players to dip below a very good value, it would seem unusual and out of character for the club to allow him to leave on a free transfer next summer.

Although with Mehmeti able to talk to non-English clubs from January about a pre-contract agreement as it currently stands, the decision could end up being taken out of the club's hands.

As a result, it would be worthwhile for Leicester, even with the cloud of uncertainty hanging over them, to test the resolve of the Bristolians in the winter market.

Anis Mehmeti would be a perfect fit for Leicester City and Marti Cifuentes

The style of football preferred by Marti Cifuentes is one of high intensity that seeks to press high and suffocate the opposition, but the Spaniard has shown a level of pragmatism this season.

However, being pragmatic with that style can often lead to quite a dull approach, especially without the creative talent trusted to be industrious by Cifuentes.

Mehmeti, though, is someone who certainly falls into the category of a hard-working attacker, as has been the case in the high intensity style of Struber at Ashton Gate this season.

Matching that with his technical quality marks him out as an ideal signing for most clubs but certainly for a Cifuentes-led Leicester side that are missing that level of quality in his position on the pitch.

Jordan James is someone who has been deployed there to reasonable effect for large parts of this season due to his energy, but his game is seemingly more suited to a box-to-box role, rather than being a number 10.

To really start dominating the opposition, Leicester require an attacking midfielder that would be willing to put in the hard yards behind the striker, and Mehmeti is the ideal candidate for that role.