This article is part of Football League World's 'The Verdict' series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...
Charlton Athletic and Oxford United are currently leading the race to sign Mason Burstow on loan from Chelsea according to The Chelsea Spot.
The 19-year-old would follow a pattern at The Valley of the club re-signing forwards who were not a resounding success in their first spell at the club, with the Addicks bringing Chuks Aneke, Jonathan Leko and Macauley Bonne back to SE7 in the last few transfer windows.
Burstow has chipped in with eight goal contributions in 13 Premier League 2 outings this season and would be hoping to reproduce the promise that he showed in breaking through at Charlton last season.
We gathered the thoughts of a selection of FLW writers on whether Burstow would be a smart addition and if regular game-time would be available at The Valley...
Simmey Hannifin-Donaldson
It would at least be a familiar move for Burstow.
That would arguably allow him to settle in quickly and hit the ground running, which is certainly something you look for in a January recruit.
With Dean Holden deploying a 4-3-3 in recent weeks, though, and therefore only one striker, with the likes of Miles Leaburn and Macauley Bonne already at the club, you do perhaps worry he will get as much game time as he will be looking for.
Therefore, if certain assurances over minutes cannot be given, which I would suspect will be the case, if regular football is the aim, Burstow may be better looking elsewhere.
James Reeves
Burstow would be an intriguing addition for Charlton.
His return would likely be welcomed by the Addicks' fans after his impressive debut season last year saw him score six goals in 23 appearances.
The emergence of the likes of Miles Leaburn, Tyreece Campbell, Ashley Maynard-Brewer and Lucas Ness has been a huge positive this campaign and Burstow would fit in well in under a manager in Dean Holden who is clearly willing to give youth a chance.
There would be question marks over how much game time Burstow would receive at The Valley, particularly after the recent addition of Macauley Bonne, although there is speculation over the futures of Jayden Stockley and Jesurun Rak-Sakyi.
With the Addicks on an upward trajectory under Holden, Burstow's comeback could further increase the positivity around the club and he could prove to be a useful asset during the second half of the season.
Marcus Ally
It smacks of a lack of imagination amongst the club's recruitment team, and with just two domestic loan slots remaining, of the five that can be named in a matchday squad, left centre back and left back should be taking priority over the striker position.
Burstow remains an exciting prospect at just 19, but even if Holden does deploy a front two, he may be better advised to go with Miles Leaburn and Bonne, supported by Jayden Stockley and Daniel Kanu, as the latter could benefit from a steady supply of senior minutes in the second half of the campaign.
It would be a decent addition for the Addicks, but playing time would be far from guaranteed, suggesting that the Blues should look at alternative destinations.