Nigel Pearson admits Stefan Bajic may have fast-tracked himself into the Bristol City squad for the visit of Preston North End on Wednesday after impressing with the Under-21s.
The 20-year-old summer signing was forced to bide his time and wait for his opportunity having arrived in England with a wrist injury. However, he made his first appearance in a City shirt in the U21's 5-0 victory over Cardiff last month.
He retained his place between the sticks for four consecutive matches and impressed as the young Robins maintain their undefeated start to the season at the summit of the table. He was then left out of the squad for Tuesday's 1-0 victory over Colchester United indicating that Pearson is considering bringing him into the senior squad following Saturday's defeat at Birmingham.
Bajic has been training with the senior squad including warming up alongside Dan Bentley and Max O'Leary on matchdays. Now Pearson is considering promoting him to at least the substitute bench after being impressed with his potential.
Speaking in his press conference ahead of the Preston game, Pearson said: "(He's been) very, very good. Very positive.
"He'll be coming into the reckoning. He has been travelling with the squad and trains very, very well. He's just a very positive person and I think that's good for us.
"It creates more competition and I suppose he falls into the category of when we signed him he was one for the future but he may fast-track himself just by being in the right place at the right time."
Asked whether he's in the reckoning to come into the side against Preston, Pearson responded: "He's in the first-team squad so now he's available the answer is yes. But what is also good is that when you have increased competition, for somebody like me, it gives me a nice problem."
Bajic does have experience playing top level football having represented boyhood club St Etienne on nine occasions in Ligue 1. He then left for Ligue 2 side Pau before moving to BS3 after standing out from 12 goalkeeper targets.
It will cast doubt on the immediate future of O'Leary who has yet to make an appearance this season with Pearson also preferring to play Bentley in City's two Carabao Cup victories. A move to bring Bajic into the reckoning will also put the spotlight on the captain with competition increasing for places.
Bentley, who was dropped for two months over Christmas last season, finds his future uncertain beyond this campaign. His contract expires in 2023 and despite admitting his representatives held early talks over an extension in May, he has yet to agree on a new deal.
Bournemouth were linked with his signature in the summer but the newly-promoted Premier League side instead opted to sign Barcelona's Neto on a one-year contract. O'Leary's contract also expires in 2023 although there is the option to extend that for an extra year.
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