Nigel Pearson backs Bristol City transfer signing to reach new heights

Nigel Pearson has backed Bristol City winger Anis Mehmeti to make big strides in the coming months, as the Albanian experiences his first pre-season at the club.

Mehmeti joined the Robins from Wycombe Wanderers on the final day of the January transfer window and immediately won supporters over with his exciting and off-the-cuff style of play.

The ex-Tottenham schoolboy made 15 Championship appearances for City last term, and despite managing just one goal and one assist, his silky dribbling and several nearly moments gave Pearson and Co. a glimpse of what the 22-year-old could offer in the future.

Mehmeti was present at the Robins’ first day of pre-season on Monday, and his manager was bullish about the progression that the winger could make in the coming months.

“He will benefit greatly from being with his teammates throughout the whole of pre-season and he will benefit from having the summer to take the pressure off of himself a little bit,” he said.

“He’s a really talented lad and he’s got an awful lot to give to us as a team, he’s a match-winner, and he’s certainly more harsh on himself than we are on him. I always look at players like him and think about how we can get the best out of him.

“I think the end of the season came at a good time for him so that he can relax and prepare for his first full season with us. It’ll be interesting to see how he fares but he's a really fit lad, he’s a good profile for us, can run all day and he’s got the ability to change games.”

Though Pearson spoke about Mehmeti’s tendency to be his own worst critic at times, the veteran insisted that he and his coaching staff won’t suffocate the winger with praise and that Mehmeti’s development and success level are in his own hands.

“You can't have everybody putting their arm around the shoulder, too much of that can be a bit smothering as well. It’s about choosing the time to have the right sorts of conversations and I think it's important not to overload players with too much information.

“I think that so many people were trying to help him at the back end of last season that the background noise was probably too much because we all want him to do well, but the person who is going to allow him to be successful is himself actually.”

The Albanian has dealt with plenty of adversity already in both his personal life and career, and found himself playing in the Essex Senior Football League when he was 19, after he was released by Norwich City.

His move to the Robins set a club-record fee for the Chairboys, and the fact that his former boss, Gareth Ainsworth, tipped the young talent to play in the Premier League one day goes some way to detailing the heights that Mehmeti could reach.

Pearson continued: “He’s a young man, his story is a good one, he's had to deal with a bit of rejection, got back in at Wycombe and played very well for them, got his move here, and he will be judged like everybody else now. But he's a player who’s got lots of ability and we've just got to try and get the best out of him, and we’ll do that by him understanding his role within the team.”