Cheltenham Town have identified Bristol City striker Sam Bell as one of their top January targets should Nigel Pearson sanction his loan move, Bristol Live understands.
The League One side are managed by former City captain and youth-team coach Wade Elliott who was in attendance to see Bell score twice as the Under-21s beat Sheffield United 4-1 at the High Performance Centre on Monday afternoon.
Bell is not short of suitors should City agree to let him leave temporarily with technical director Brian Tinnion claiming at the beginning of the month that the club have received five loan enquiries from various EFL clubs.
The 20-year-old has yet to start a senior match this season and has been limited to three substitute appearances in the Championship. There is strong competition for places in the City attack with Antoine Semenyo, Nahki Wells, Chris Martin, Tommy Conway and Andi Weimann all vying for positions.
Bell has enjoyed a prolific campaign with the Under-21s having scored 13 goals in his last 13 matches. He is at that stage of his career where he can be considered too good for the youth side but not quite at the level to break into Pearson's plans on a regular basis.
Tinnion admitted staff will have conversations with Pearson about Bell's short-term future and whether sending him out on loan in January will be the best course of action in the next step of his development. He told Bristol Live: "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."
A six-month loan to Cheltenham would make sense for more than one reason. Firstly, it will allow Bell to play regularly at a new level in League One having previously had spells with Clevedon Town, Yate Town and Grimsby Town.
It is also convenient from a geographical point of view with the town situated just over 40 miles north of Bristol meaning Bell won't have to relocate. City have also maintained a strong relationship with Elliott having sent James Taylor on loan there at the beginning of the season to help aid his experience in and around a senior working environment.
If he does make the move, he would follow in his father's footsteps in playing for Cheltenham with Micky Bell making 15 appearances during the 2006/07 campaign.
Cheltenham are currently 17th in League One and hitting the target has been one of their main concerns this season. They are the lowest scorers in the division with 16 goals in 20 matches.
City could always look at Tommy Conway's progress in the senior side this season and decide to keep Bell. The club considered letting him leave in the summer but he has emerged as a valuable member of the senior side with nine goals in all competitions this season.
Another factor could depend on the immediate future of Antoine Semenyo. The Ghanaian forward has been linked with a move away with the likes of Bournemouth and Crystal Palace interested while there's a necessity to raise funds in order to reinvest elsewhere in the squad.
If he does leave, Bell will more than likely stay although the general consensus from the club is that he needs a regular run of minutes in competitive football.
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