Bristol City have announced a deal which will see Stern John remain at Ashton Gate until the end of the season while Scottish international defender Andy Webster is returning to Glasgow Rangers.

Signed on loan from Coca-Cola Championship rivals Southampton in October, the striker was due to return to St Mary's after yesterday's home game against Crystal Palace.

But Bristol City manager Gary Johnson is keen to extend John's stay and cash-strapped Saints have agreed to allow the Trinidad & Tobago international star to stay at Ashton Gate.

Out of contract at Southampton at the end of the season, John now has five months in which to prove he is worth a long-term deal in Bristol.

In debt to the tune of more than £27m, Saints are under pressure to cut their wage bill and chairman Rupert Lowe has hinted that star players could be sold in January to help balance the books. John has been farmed out for the same reason.

Johnson revealed: "There was a gentleman's agreement between ourselves and Southampton and that is now kicking in.

"They want him off the wage bill and they're not going to offer him a new contract. We agreed, when he first came here, that he would stay beyond the end of the year if we wanted him to and that hasn't changed."

John has started eight Championship games for City, scored twice and shown signs of developing a successful partnership with Nicky Maynard.

And Johnson is not ruling out the possibility of the former World Cup star staying beyond the end of the season. He said: "Stern has been a good signing. He has a lot of experience and he's good in the dressing room. Although you might not see him rushing around the pitch, he's quite clever in his play and we've looked more like scoring goals since he arrived."

But Scottish international defender Andy Webster is returning to Glasgow Rangers after his six-month loan spell came to an end.

Johnson confirmed his intention to sign a replacement centre-back during the January transfer window.

He said: "We do have a few different options and some cover in that position, but we could also do with another centre-half.

"Good centre-backs are hard to come by, but we're looking and will do our best to bring one in next month."