Deadline day heartbreak for Bristol Rovers as star striker Matty Taylor joins arch rivals City

The 26-year-old forward will cost City just £300,000 after they activated his release clause

Bristol Rovers' star striker, Matty Taylor, is leaving for cross-town rivals City (Getty)

It is the nightmare of every Bristol Rovers supporter and it is the sort of transfer that makes a player into public enemy number one.

But Matty Taylor crossing the River Avon, for just £300,000, to join Rovers' arch rivals is set to be confirmed imminently and will dash the Pirates' promotion bid.

Taylor. 26, is one of League One's most prolific forwards, only outgunned by James Vaughan, Billy Sharp and Josh Morris.

And in simply activating his release clause, City are picking up a confident, in-form goalscorer with Championship upside for well below the going rate.

The red side of Bristol boasts significant funding from a wealthy chairman but also coined in £15million from the sale of Jonathan Kodjia in the summer, but are only unloading just over a quarter of a million pounds to secure Taylor's signature. The first to cross this city's divide in almost 30 years. A transfer that will make Taylor's life around Britain's sixth most populous city somewhat more awkward.

Whether he can step up to hit the ground running will be key in Bristol City's fight against relegation, a proposition that Gasheads across the River Avon had hoped would coincide with their promotion through the playoffs.

But for now the momentum has shifted, some wind wrested from Rovers' sails as their most-hated rivals pick up a bargain striker capable of keeping them up.

It will hurt more than any other transfer you witness on deadline day.