I spent two years at Bristol City, Emil Riis will bring something Robins have been missing | Bristol Live

Bristol City have signed three players since they confirmed the appointment of new head coach Gerhard Struber

Former Bristol City forward Leroy Rosenior has told Bristol Live that Emil Riis will bring something to Ashton Gate that was missing from Liam Manning's side last season, after the Reds continued their ambitious start to the summer.

The Robins announced their third signing of the transfer window earlier this week, with former Preston North End forward Riis putting pen to paper on a three-year contract in south Bristol, having opted against extending his stay at Deepdale earlier this summer.

Riis scored 12 goals for Paul Heckingbottom's side last term, including one against City in BS3, as the Lilywhites avoided relegation to League One on the final day of the season. The Reds are hoping the 27-year-old will be able to utilise his Championship experience to hit the ground running in the West Country.

Having confirmed the departure of Nahki Wells just last week, Gerhard Struber's side were always likely to add at least another forward to their ranks. In Riis, Rosenior, who spent two years as a player at Ashton Gate, scoring 15 goals in 62 appearances before becoming a regular on Robins TV, thinks the Reds have found the ideal replacement.

"I think it is a bit of a coup," the former City forward told Bristol Live. "Obviously, on a free transfer, he's an established Championship player, and with Nahki going, I felt there needed to be a positive response, and I think this is a positive response.

"He's an experienced guy at 27 years old. He's got a goalscoring record of around one in four, which is okay, but what he does is offer a profile which was maybe a little bit lacking last season in terms of being able to lead the line on his own. Nahki did really well last year, but maybe he lacked that physical presence and Sinclair and Fally were both inexperienced.

"He brings something that was missing last year, so it's a really good signing, really positive, and I think he'll certainly help the club."

While supporters have been keen to see the Reds spend this summer to build on the success of last term, the messaging from the key decision makers at Ashton Gate, including Steve Lansdown, has been that City "won't go wild" and will continue to look for value for money in the market.

The suitability of that approach was brought into focus earlier this summer when Liam Manning departed BS3 to take over as the new head coach of Norwich City. The Canaries finished seven places behind the Reds last season, leaving many fans questioning why Manning felt such a move would be a step up.

In his early interviews at Carrow Road, the 39-year-old has cited the ambition of the club as the major contributing factor behind his decision, with the location just an added bonus.

Although that frustrated City supporters who felt the Robins hadn't done enough to match their head coach's desire to improve, Rosenior feels the Reds' early transfer business and the encouraging appointment of Struber show that the Ashton Gate hierarchy aren't planning to stand still.

"We understand that Liam left to go back to his home town club, but when I saw him being interviewed and he said that he was ambitious, I thought that would have stung quite a few people," he explained. "I think it might have stung a few people into action as well because City finished seven places above Norwich in the Championship and had a really good season.

"I think that may have just hurt a little bit, so I think the way that the club have reacted in signing the players quickly and getting Gerhard on board as the new manager to replace Liam shows that they're looking forward. In a funny way, in the back of their minds, they'll be wanting to prove to Liam Manning that he was wrong to move to Norwich and feel that it was a better prospect, which is what he intimated in all honesty.

"The signing of Riis, Adam Randell - I like the look of him - Joe Lumley - an experienced goalkeeper - and also with Rob Atkinson coming back from Portsmouth after his loan spell there, it just feels like a whole new spine of the team has been signed, and that was exactly what was required.

"Liam worked with a small squad last year, and maybe that was the undoing of the club at the end of the season, but now they've signed early and done it early, I think that's a really positive sign and it shows ambition."