Bristol City haven't been blessed with the world's biggest budget but that hasn't hindered them from climbing the Football League.

The Robins have been able to seal a promotion from League One and sit comfortably in the Championship for nearly a decade now and have done so by shopping for bargains and diamonds in the rough.

Along with plenty of solid signings though, there have also been a few duds along the way. As with every club, with every world-beater, you might have to get a few deals that fall apart.

Here then, are eight of the most underwhelming Bristol City signings from recent times.

Chris Brunt joined Bristol City last season and whilst perhaps not underwhelming when you consider his age, his exploits for West Brom might have convinced the club that they would have had more when they signed him.

The player was exceptional for the Baggies and regardless of where he is in his career, the Robins probably would have hoped that they could have at least got a bit more from him. However, he managed only five league starts and 12 league outings in total with no goal contributions and had to spend most of the time on the bench or out of the squad.

City then didn't get the best of Brunt - but it's probably more understandable than other names on this list. Brunt has now hung up his boots.

Mo Eisa joined Bristol City as a 24-year-old and after a 23 goal season for Cheltenham, the Robins probably thought they were getting a player who could fire in the goals at will and who could potentially be a star of the future all the time.

However, the step up from League Two to the Championship just seemed to prove too much for the player at the time. He could muster only five league appearances for the Robins during his time there - with no starts - and was then let go with only a season under his belt. He now plays for MK Dons in League One, where he has begun to find his feet again a division lower.

Marley Watkins, unlike Eisa, had plenty of Championship experience under his belt when he joined Bristol City but it didn't lead to the greatest move for the club or the player. At 27-years-old and after bagging ten goals previously for Barnsley in the second tier, the Robins again probably thought they were going to get a solid striker.

However, he managed only five starts in the league for the club in his first campaign there and despite 16 appearances in total, he could manage only two goals. He had to remain a bit-part player a season later and with less appearances and the same amount of starts, he managed a goal less too.

Eventually, he was allowed to leave for Scotland - and a deal ultimately never worked out. Watkins currently plays his football for Aberdeen.

The goalkeeper was a solid option in Greece for Panathinaikos but he couldn't manage the same amount of showings or the same level of performances in England as he did for that former club. He joined Bristol City in 2017/18 but ended up becoming the second-string option at Ashton Gate, making only five league appearances for the side during his first season there.

That would prove to be his only campaign with the side too. He wasn't even kept on as a substitute option and was allowed to join Nottingham Forest the season after he originally made the move. After a spell with Stamford, he currently plays his football out of the EFL for Notts County.

Engvall's time at Bristol City almost seems as if it never actually happened. After bagging eight goals for Djurgarden and three goals for Goteborg in Sweden, he made the switch to England and would likely have wanted to continue his goalscoring antics for the Robins. It didn't quite turn out that way though.

He managed only two league outings when he first made the move to Ashton Gate and that ultimately led to a return of nothing in front of goal. That loan spell back to Sweden and Djurgardens threatened to get more out of him but upon his return to Bristol, he managed only two games and no goals again. Engvall then is best forgetting his time in England. He's faring much better now for Mechelen in Belgium.

Perhaps not underwhelming in the respect that not much was expected of him at Bristol City when he first joined the club but in terms of his overall contribution and the fact that many probably thought he had perhaps been signed as a prospect for the future, De Girolamo did very little with the Robins.

After some showings in League One and Two, he was snapped up by Bristol City from Sheffield United as a 20-year-old, with plenty still to come from him - or so it seemed. He never did get a league game for the Robins and the side clearly ended up not liking much of what they saw from the forward on loan because he eventually departed the side after two short-term deals to Cheltenham and Chesterfield.

He now plays for Buxton - where he is actually faring a lot better.

Considering his form both before and after Bristol City, Ryan Fredericks could perhaps fall into this category - and he at least represents a case of 'what might have been' with the side had he played and offered more.

The current Bournemouth man, who has just left West Ham, has been solid enough as a rotation option for the Hammers over the course of the last four seasons or so. He's racked up 63 league outings for the side and even has a total of 140 Championship games behind him in his career so far too. It makes his short spell at Ashton Gate even more baffling.

After a decent enough campaign with Middlesbrough, he joined up with the Robins and played only four league games - and that was that for the player with the club. He then went on to play 32 times for Fulham the campaign after and then eventually helped take them into the play-off spots in the second tier twice. As the only time in his career when he didn't really manage much, it has to go down as underwhelming.

The last name on this list is Simon Cox, who joined up with Bristol City in 2015/16 on a loan deal. It was underwhelming because after years of goals in the Championship and League One, he didn't get on the field probably half as much as the club would have liked and didn't produce much in front of goal either.

Even as a squad rotation option he didn't do too much and barely featured during his short-term spell with the Robins. After two campaigns with eight goals each for Reading and Nottingham Forest, City probably hoped he would at least join them until January that season and help them get off to a good start. Instead, he managed only four league games and not a single start or goal before his return to Reading.

Cox then, simply never got firing at Bristol City. He last played for Western Sydney Wanderers and has now retired.