Bristol City: Lee Johnson prediction was on the money after £5.3m raid - View | OneFootball

The Robins' record signing proved good value for money

Bristol City found themselves needing to find a new centre-forward during the 2017 summer transfer window.

The previous campaign had seen Tammy Abraham enjoy an excellent spell on loan at Ashton Gate, from Premier League side Chelsea.

During that period, the striker had scored more than a third (23) of the total league goals (60) scored by the Robins during the 2016/17 season.

As a result, there was a need to fill a goalscoring void for the club, following Abraham's return to Stamford Bridge, and subsequent loan move to Swansea City.

In the end, Bristol City certainly did not hold back in their attempts to bring in a new centre-forward to fill that role.

Robins spent big on Famara Diedhiou

In late June 2017, the club announced the signing of Famara Diedhiou, on a permanent deal from French side Angers.

The striker had spent the 2016/17 campaign in Ligue 1 with the club, and had enjoyed a prolific campaign on loan in Ligue 2 with Clermont Foot the season before that.

As a result, there was reason for those connected with Bristol City to be excited with this signing, and the fee they paid ought to have also added to the anticipation around his arrival.

The Robins broke their transfer record in order to secure the services of Diedhiou, with it being reported they paid a fee of £5.3million to Angers for his signing.

Given that investment, many at Ashton Gate will have expected a lot from the striker, including Lee Johnson.

Speaking at the time of Diedhiou's signing, the then Bristol City manager claimed that he believed the striker would be a "huge player" for the Robins.

Ultimately, that prediction from Johnson, about the striker's time with the club, would prove to be rather accurate.

Famara Diedhiou made a big impact for Bristol City

Having completed his move to the club, Diedhiou wasted little time in making the sort of contributions they will have wanted from their new striker.

The opening day of the 2017/18 season saw the striker head home a debut goal, as Bristol City started the season with a 3-1 win at home to Barnsley.

That did set something of a tone for Diedhiou, who, despite missing several months of the season, still scored a total of 14 goals for the club.

Included in that was an opening goal in a 2-0 win over then Premier League side Stoke City, as the Robins enjoyed a memorable run to the League Cup semi-finals.

After missing the start of the 2018/19 campaign due to suspension, the striker then picked up where he left off when he returned to action.

Coming off the bench, Diedhiou marked his first appearance of the campaign with a goal in a 4-1 win over Blackburn Rovers.

Again, his attacking presence and instinct made him a key man for Bristol City, ending the campaign as their top scorer, with 13 league goals, as the Robins finished eighth in the Championship.

They were just four points adrift of the play-offs at that point, with winning goals from Diedhiou against the likes of Hull, Ipswich, Birmingham and QPR giving them hope of claiming a top six spot.

The 2019-20 campaign again saw the Robins challenge for the play-offs, but fall short with a 12th place finish.

Even so, Diedhiou was again among the standouts for the club, with 14 goals in all competitions, meaning he finished as their top scorer for the second season in a row.

Those efforts did not go unnoticed either, with the Senegal international being named as Bristol City's Player of the Year for the 2019-20 season.

While the following campaign was not as successful, Diedhiou did still score some important winning goals in the 2020/21 season, that helped the club to safety with a 19th place finish.

He would also reach a milestone with a brace in a 3-1 win at Middlesbrough, that saw him score his 50th goal in all competitions for Bristol City.

All of that ensured that when Diedhiou departed Ashton Gate at the end of the season, he did so as a player who had more than earned a place in the hearts of the Robins faithful.

Indeed, even now, the striker continues to be a follower and supporter of the club, which will only further endear himself to the fanbase.

With that in mind, the expectation Johnson placed on Diedhiou when he first arrived at Bristol City, was certainly vindicated.