Bristol City's Technical Director Brian Tinnion has revealed that the club have received a number of loan enquiries from teams for Sam Bell and will now assess the forward's short-term future ahead of the January window.
A product of the Robins' youth academy, Bell has yet to start a game at senior level this season.
Due to the presence of Tommy Conway, Chris Martin, Nahki Wells and Antoine Semenyo, the 20-year-old has been limited to just three substitute appearances in all competitions.
Deployed regularly at Under-21 level, the forward has produced a number of impressive performances for the Robins' youth side in recent months.
In the last 11 games that he has participated in, Bell has managed to find the back of the net on 10 occasions.
Having made a cameo appearance against Middlesbrough in the Championship last month, the forward will be hoping to earn another chance to showcase his talent when City take on Rotherham United on December 10th.
Ahead of this upcoming clash, Tinnion has shared an update on Bell's current situation at Ashton Gate.
Speaking to Bristol Live about the forward, Tinnion said: "We've had lots of enquiries, we've probably had four or five league clubs that would take him on loan but again we'll have the conversations with Nige when we get closer to January to see where he is in the pecking order and if he's going to make an impact.
"If he is, then he'll stay in the building.
"If we think for his development it might be good for him to go and get some league games then we'll look at that but he's working really hard and playing and training really well so he's chomping at the bit to get the opportunity here.
"That's a discussion that we'll have to have as staff to get it right and ultimately if Nige, as he said with Tommy Conway in the summer, if he thinks he can impact us after January he'll stay in."
The Verdict
Unless Bell is able to make inroads on City's starting eleven in the coming weeks, they ought to consider sanctioning a short-term loan deal for him when the transfer window opens.
By joining a club who are willing to play him week-in, week-out, the forward will gain some much-needed senior experience.
Under the guidance of the right manager, Bell could potentially improve significantly as a player before returning to Ashton Gate following the conclusion of the current campaign.
Providing that Conway, Wells, Semenyo and Martin are all able to deliver the goods in an attacking sense, the Robins may not necessarily miss Bell if he seals a temporary exit in January.