Top scorers and academy graduates: 10 ex-Bristol City players Robins could face in Championship | Bristol Live

Bristol City will be hoping to compete at the top of the Championship again next season having finished in the top six this term

Despite their best efforts, Bristol City will once again be plying their trade in the Championship next season after their first play-off campaign in 17 years ended in a disappointing fashion against Sheffield United.

Having put together an impressive run of form over the course of the second half of the season to book their spot in the top six on the final day of the campaign, a record 6-0 aggregate defeat to the Blades ensured promotion to the Premier League remains just a dream for the Reds.

Now, the Robins face a huge summer. Despite the fact Norwich City are understood to be closing in on appointing Liam Manning as their new head coach and movement both in and out of BS3 is expected in the coming months, the Reds will be looking to challenge at the top of the division again next term.

Getting their next appointment right and making the right additions to the playing squad over the course of the summer will determine just how attainable that goal is. On top of that, the coming weeks will serve as an indicator of just how competitive the Championship will be.

What we do know already however is that City will come up against one or two familiar faces over the course of the season with several former players set to ply their trade in the second tier.

Of course, transfers can occur between now and the start of the season with the window set to open for the first time this summer on this coming Sunday. However, Bristol Live have picked out 10 former Robins who could face their old side next season...

Sammie Szmodics - Ipswich Town

The first of several players set to return to the Championship this summer after a spell away from England's second tier, Sammie Szmodics' is likely to face Bristol City again next season having been part of the Ipswich Town team relegated from the Premier League this term.

Through no fault of his own, the Ireland international's spell at Ashton Gate was more than a little bit forgettable. Having put pen to paper on a three-year contract in BS3 in the summer of 2019, he joined Peterborough United on loan the following January having made just four competitive appearances for the Reds.

Szmodics' move to Posh was then made permanent that summer and he helped fire Peterborough to the Championship before moving to Blackburn Rovers where he won the second-tier Golden Boot in the 2023/24 campaign.

His impressive season at Ewood Park earned him a move to Ipswich where he scored four goals as Kieran McKenna's side were relegated this term. Unless he moves on again, he will likely feature at Ashton Gate sometime soon.

Matty James - Wrexham

Another player set to return to the Championship, albeit having won promotion rather than having suffered relegation, Matty James couldn't have asked for a much better first season at Wrexham.

After leaving Bristol City as a free agent last summer, the midfielder remained without a club until October before putting pen to paper on a short-term deal at The Race Course Ground. Less than two months later, the 33-year-old signed a new contract which will see him remain with the North Wales club until the end of the 2025/26 campaign.

James made 32 League One appearances for Phil Parkinson's side as they finished second to win promotion as runners-up behind Birmingham City. In total, the former Leicester City man scored two goals, one of which came against Bristol Rovers, and picked up three assists.

Bobby Decordova-Reid - Leicester City

It is hard to believe it has been seven years since Bobby Reid played his last game for Bristol City. A product of the Robins' academy, Reid made the step up to the Premier League with Cardiff City in the summer of 2018 having scored 21 goals for the Reds in all competitions the season prior.

Since leaving BS3, the now 31-year-old has bounced between the Championship and the Premier League. However, the Jamaican international has spent the last three seasons in the top flight with both Fulham and more recently Leicester City.

With the Foxes relegated at the first time of asking, having been promoted as Championship champions last term, Reid will once again be plying his trade in the second tier should he leave the King Power Stadium this summer. If he features against the Reds, it will be the first time he has faced City in over three years.

Taylor Gardner-Hickman - Birmingham City

Has it really only been a year since we last saw Taylor Gardner-Hickman in a Bristol City shirt?

Like Sammie Szmodics, Gardner-Hickman's spell at Ashton Gate was short and sweet with the midfielder spending just a single season as a Robin.

Having joined City on an initial loan deal from West Brom in the summer of 2023, the Red opted to make the 23-year-old's stay in BS3 permanent in the following January. In total, he played 40 times for the Robins, including against Coventry City in the Carabao Cup earlier this season, before dropping into League One with Birmingham City on an initial loan.

Like his move to City, Gardner-Hickman's stay at St Andrew's was then made permanent in January and he went on to make 33 League One appearances for Chris Davies' side as they won the title. Now, he is set to face the Reds as an opposition player next term.

Andi Weimann - Blackburn Rovers

When you think of modern-day Bristol City greats, Andi Weimann's is likely one of the first names that springs to mind. The Austrian spent five and a half years in BS3 and while he faded towards the end of that spell, he always gave his all under all of Lee Johnson, Dean Holden, Nigel Pearson and Liam Manning.

The Austrian showed over the course of the season just gone that he still has plenty left to offer in the Championship as he scored nine goals for Blackburn Rovers in all competitions before his season was ended prematurely by a knee injury sustained in March.

Weimann's current contract at Ewood Park is set to expire this summer and while he has been offered a new deal, reports from our sister publication Derbyshire Live suggest Derby County are also keen to secure the 33-year-old's services ahead of the new season.

Whichever club the former Aston Villa man ends up plying his trade with next term, it seems likely he will again be lining up against the Robins.

Kasey Palmer - Hull City

Another player who joined Bristol City in the Lee Johnson era. While the Robins saw flashes of Kasey Palmer's ability at times, he never quite managed to find the consistency needed to hold down a consistent starting role at Ashton Gate.

After departing the West Country in the summer of 2022, Palmer spent a little over two seasons with Coventry City, even scoring against the Reds in a 1-1 draw at the start of the 2024/25 season. A matter of days after that goal, he joined Hull City on a permanent basis, putting pen to paper on a three-year deal with the Tigers.

The now 28-year-old wasn't fit to feature against Liam Manning's Robins this season but will likely line up against City at some stage next season.

Tommy Conway - Middlesbrough

The third successive player to have scored against Bristol City since leaving Ashton Gate, Tommy Conway again looks set to return to BS3 next season after Middlesbrough missed out on a place in the Championship play-offs.

We don't need to trudge up old ground of how and why the Scotland international left the West Country last summer but it is safe to say he isn't the most popular figure among the Robins faithful. When he played against City this season, he was certainly on the receiving end of plenty of stick from the home crowd.

Perhaps emotions will have died down by the next time he takes to the Ashton Gate pitch as an opposition player. Admittedly, that seems unlikely.

Kane Wilson - Derby County

Another player who falls into the Sammie Szmodics camp of never quite getting his chance in Bristol City colours, Kane Wilson was viewed by most supporters as one of the Robins' most exciting summer additions when he made the move to BS3 from Forest Green Rovers in 2022.

A year later, the defender left Ashton Gate having made just seven appearances in all competitions to join Derby County in League One. In his first season at Pride Park, the now 25-year-old helped the Rams win promotion to the Championship and played 33 times as they avoided relegation this term.

Derby have now exercised an option with Wilson's contract to keep him at the club for the 2025/26 campaign and it therefore seems likely he will again face the Robins as an opposition player.

Jay Dasilva - Coventry City

From one full-back to another, Jay Dasilva initially joined Bristol City on loan from Chelsea in the summer of 2018 before making his move to Ashton Gate permanent the following year.

Over the course of his five seasons as a Robin, the left-back made 144 appearances in all competitions, scoring two goals and picking up 11 assists before leaving as a free agent in the summer of 2023 following the emergence of Cam Pring.

Since then, the Wales international has enjoyed two impressive seasons at Coventry City, reaching the FA Cup semi-final last term and the Championship play-off semi-final this year.

Like the Reds however, Frank Lampard's side were unable to book their place in the Wembley final and Dasilva will therefore likely take on City again next term.

Joe Bryan - Millwall

We'll finish on the man Jay Dasilva replaced, Joe Bryan. Like Bobby Reid, Bryan was a product of the Bristol City academy, making 230 appearances in red and white before joining Fulham in the summer of 2018.

After five seasons at Craven Cottage, and a loan spell with Nice, the left-back joined Millwall as a free agent in the summer of 2023 and he has remained at The Den ever since.

Bryan played against the Robins twice this term and ended up on the losing side on each occasion. With another two years left to run on his contract with the Lions, he will almost certainly face off against City again next season.