Bristol City boss Sean O’Driscoll is reluctant to let Ipswich Town target Paul Anderson leave the Robins, as he gears up for a League One promotion push next season.

We exclusively revealed on Friday that City and the Blues were discussing a swap deal involving former Nottingham Forest winger Anderson, and Town forward, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas.

O’Driscoll told the Bristol Post: “Paul Anderson is not a player I would ideally want to let go. He fits in with what I am trying to do here next season.

“That, plus the fact Jay cost a lot of money when he moved to Ipswich from Arsenal, mean a deal is still a long way off.

“We were approached to take Jay and I had him at Doncaster and think he’s a talented boy. But he is on Championship money and we are a League One club.

“Wage-wise we cannot compete and there is a lot of work to be done before something can be agreed. We are talking financial matters at the moment and that is as far as things have gone.”