In his first senior managerial role, Dean Holden has his Bristol City side sitting pretty in 9th position and it's a place where fans should be more than content with.

The club have aspirations of the Premier League for the first time in their history, and they certainly have an infrastructure, catchment area and fanbase to achieve that feat.

And there's been lots of investment on the pitch as well, although this summer was a relatively quiet one with Holden bringing in just loans and free transfers, the exception being Wigan's Joe Williams.

City's squad has been battered by injuries this season, with long-term ones suffered by Williams, Liam Walsh and Andreas Wiemann amongst others.

Even though they have an injury-hit squad, a few players who are on the fringes of the starting 11 will probably be considering their futures - let's look at two of those who may end up leaving Ashton Gate in January.

Han-Noah Massengo

City spent a hefty fee on Massengo last summer - a reported £7.2million for the 18-year-old at the time - mainly on the basis of potential having played three times for Monaco's first team.

The Frenchman gained experience by playing 25 times for the Robins last season, but new manager Dean Holden hasn't fancied the teen's abilities much this season, playing both Jamie Paterson and Wiemann in attacking midfield positions when fit with one of Tyreeq Bakinson or Adam Nagy usually in the sitting role.

It won't do Massengo any good whatsoever if he just remains on the bench, so he could be a candidate for a January loan move to another English side, or perhaps back to France for the rest of the season.

Max O'Leary

Dan Bentley is one of the best goalkeepers in the division and unless he is sold, it's unlikely that O'Leary is going to usurp him and become the number one at Ashton Gate anytime soon.

The 24-year-old got a full season under his belt on loan at Shrewsbury last year, and if he wants to think about his long-term future, he may have to consider finding a new club if he wants to become a first choice.

On the strength of his performances at Salop, O'Leary could easily find a top League One club, and he's still got years ahead of him to improve.