Adam Webster's untimely sale and injuries to key individuals has left Bristol City short in the defensive department but with the transfer window closed, Lee Johnson has been forced to turn to free agency.
Reports have indicated that former Swansea and Everton centre-back Ashley Williams has held discussions over a 12-month contract in BS3 following his release from Goodison Park in the summer.
For City, they will be signing a vastly experienced defender who is, or at least was, a proven commodity at this level and from Williams' perspective he gets to remain in England and on the radar of Wales manager Ryan Giggs, with Euro 2020 on the horizon.
The only obstacle appears the issue of wages with Williams on around £70,000-a-week at Everton but his decision to turn down lucrative moves to MLS and the Middle East implies that playing time is his primary goal at this stage of his career.
Reaction on social media has been mixed with City fans weighing up the benefits of Williams' top-flight knowhow and previous excellence against the last 12-24 months which have proven largely forgettable.
Here is a balanced selection of the viewpoints across Twitter and Facebook ...
Meanwhile, on Facebook ...
Stuart Peard: "Experience alone is worth a year."
Pete Walker: "That’ll be a great signing. It’ll be a very experienced addition to a young team."
Dan Knight: "Could be a good one to help Taylor Moore develop and cover the experience he has as well."
Paul Curtis: "Good defender in his day, but his day was a while ago. I'd take him in view of the circumstances we're now faced with though."
Mark Smith: "He be a good signing although I wouldn't pretty much say he be a Webster replacement, I'd say he be more of a added experiance to add some more depth to our defence. Hopefully this happens though as hes a fairly big name player."
Georgee-Lee Shepherd: "Experience is what we need why not give him a chance decent enough player."
