Bristol City should conduct double Barnsley transfer raid in wake of Anis Mehmeti's Ipswich Town move | OneFootball

Bristol City should waste no time in replacing Anis Mehmeti with two of Barnsley's brightest stars

An Anis Mehmeti departure seemed an inevitability in 2026, with his Bristol City contract up at the end of the season. In the end, the Robins decided to cash in on him this January, with Ipswich Town swooping in.

The Tractor Boys paid an initial £3 million for the 25-year-old, who was the driving force in Bristol City's attack, registering 14 goal contributions in 28 league games before the move on Friday.

There's no doubt that he'll improve an already frightening frontline at Portman Road, and those at Ashton Gate will feel some sense of frustration at the fact that they couldn't get closer to his true valuation due to an expiring contract.

However, Bristol City can't afford to sit and lick their wounds following Mehmeti's departure, as, for a Robins side that needed attacking reinforcements this January before their star man left, they're now a top priority.

Gerhard Sruber's side already received £11 million following Antoine Semenyo's move to Manchester City earlier in the window, and the extra money from the Albanian's departure puts them in a strong position to make a big splash in the final week of the window.

And they should look no further than Struber's old side, Barnsley, to reignite an attacking spark at Ashton Gate.

Bristol City should use windfall money to target Barnsley's Davis Keillor-Dunn and Reyes Cleary

It's the worst-kept secret in the EFL now, after Barnsley's FA Cup third round tie against Liverpool, that the Tykes have a couple of the best attacking talents in the third tier.

Everyone who tuned into TNT's coverage at Anfield left knowing that both Cleary and Keillor-Dunn's future lies above League One, and Barnsley have had to fend off plenty of interest in the two from Championship sides in the weeks that have followed.

Bristol City have already put their names in the hat for potential Keillor-Dunn suitors, as exclusively revealed by Football League World, but will have to battle interest from other second-tier sides such as Wrexham and Middlesbrough.

As for Cleary, it's well documented that Blackburn Rovers have had an interest in the exciting 21-year-old, with a bid being rejected by Barnsley higher-ups early on in the window.

Valerien Ismael's side don't seem to be the only admirers, however, as Barnsley Chairman Neerav Parekh revealed in a fans' forum that the club have turned down four bids for the former West Brom youngster from two different second-tier sides this month.

"We're not going to sell on the cheap. We're very sure that our best players should stay here. There's a price for everyone, obviously," he said.

Plenty of sides will be put off by the valuation, but Bristol City shouldn't be.

They should have the funds available through the Semenyo sell-on clause and the Mehmeti sale to pay what Neerav Parekh and the rest of the Barnsley board deem suitable for the attacking duo.

In the Championship this season, Mehmeti has carried the attacking load for the most part, with Emil Riis and Scott Twine also chipping in.

Outside those three, there hasn't been much of that attacking edge that play-off sides get associated with, and because of that, Bristol City have been on the periphery of the top six for the majority of the campaign.

Attacking additions were always something that Gerhard Struber would have prioritised this January. The Robins were involved in a mini-saga surrounding Middlesbrough forward Delano Burgzorg this month, before it was revealed that the 27-year-old was set to stay at the Riverside.

Since then, Bristol City have lost their Championship top scorer in Mehmeti, so the importance of a move for exciting frontmen has increased tenfold.

Both Cleary and Keillor-Dunn are exceptional talents, and both are in a position to hit the ground running at any Championship side if a move were to be made in January, but if they make that move together, it'd be like continuing where they left off at Oakwell.

Therefore, Bristol City should make that move, and the injection of new life into the frontline could help propel them from a side just outside the play-offs to one well in it come May.