Bristol City head coach Gerhard Struber admits he’s disappointed to have lost one of his “most interesting players”, forward Anis Mehmeti having joined Town for an initial £3 million deal this morning, signing a three-and-a-half-year deal.

Struber opened his press conference by confirming that the 25-year-old was on his way out of Ashton Gate after three years.

“I want to speak openly,” he told BristolLive. “I can tell you that Anis is not involved in the pre-match for tomorrow.

“Anis is on the way to make his medical today. He has a big offer on the table from a different club and this looks like maybe Anis will move in a different way. That’s part of the game, we have to deal with that and that's the situation.

“We know that Anis was one of the most interesting players for the final moments and he developed really, really quickly in the last few months in a very interesting direction.

“That he has, in the end, big offers, with his performance the last five, six months, this is not a surprise for me.

“From one side, it’s really good to see how our football is working and interesting for other clubs - how players develop.

“On the other side, it’s, of course, a shame that we lose one of our most interesting players for the final moments.

“That’s football, we have to deal with that. We have a strong group of players here, we have to bring maybe the one or other player in a good position right now, and then we move on.

“It's not the moment to cry or to moan about something, it’s more the moment that we push together in a typical Bristol City way. Where we are and we have to go and not waste too much time on what we cannot change.

“It’s not in my influence, we have to do all the things that help us in the end to win tomorrow and in the next games.

“In this direction, the boys deserve a coach in front of them that has energy and a belief. I have a big belief in this group that we can surprise, and in this direction, I will do everything.”

The Austrian says he’ll need to bring someone into his squad: “In more directions, I think we need a replacement for Anis right now, this is for everyone clear. We have to do the best to realise that in the next few days.”

On the likelihood of that happening, he admitted: “This is not in my hands. When it is in my hands, it would happen 100 per cent. And I hope, I trust and I believe that our recruitment, our management helps the team [so] that we can believe in our big goal to jump in the play-offs.”

Photo: TWTD