Bristol City blow could directly impact summer transfer business: View | OneFootball

Bristol City have slipped away from the play-off chasing pack in recent weeks, but Liam Manning and the club's hierarchy have built some decent foundations to develop for the rest of the campaign and beyond.

City currently sit 11 points behind sixth-placed Hull and have lost back-to-back matches, but with a squad that is packed full of early to mid-20's talents, the 2024-25 campaign could be a big one for the Ashton Gate outfit.

In terms of this season though, a recent injury to Sam Bell though will come as a setback for the Robins - but it could provide opportunities for two loanee players at the club.

Academy graduate Bell suffered his injury during the Robins' 1-0 home defeat to QPR in the Championship and is now expected to be out for the remainder of the season.

While it will come as a blow for the club, it could provide on-loan duo Scott Twine and Dire Mebude with opportunities to put their stamp on their temporary club.

Should they impress, the club may opt to explore a permanent deal for either of the forwards in the summer.

Sam Bell will be a miss for Bristol

Bell broke into consistent first team considerations towards the end of last season with a run of starts and has become a key starter in 2023-24, having appeared in all the Robins' league games up until he suffered his injury.

It has been described by City boss Liam Manning as a 'really bad hamstring injury' that is going to require surgery and will keep the young forward sidelined for the rest of the campaign, and it may mean he only gets back onto the grass during pre-season training.

Bell is highly-rated at Ashton Gate, having been with the club since childhood and rising through the ranks to his current status in the side, for which he earned a new three-year contract in October.

It had been a productive season for the young star prior to his hamstring issue, having netted five times in 33 league appearances, with 23 of those being starts.

Bell injury opens the Bristol City door to Scott Twine and Dire Mebude

In Bell, the club have lost a player that can operate in a number of attacking positions, as he has done this season.

And so for Twine - currently on loan from Premier League side Burnley - and Mebude, who was signed earlier this month on loan from Belgian side KVC Westerlo with an option to buy, it is likely to present greater opportunities to get on the pitch and prove their worth to Robins boss Manning.

Both players can also operate in a number of attacking positions on either wing and through the middle, so should find chances with Bell now set for a spell on the sidelines.

Twine spent the first half of this season on loan at fellow Championship side Hull City, where he racked up four goals and three assists in 25 appearances but, through injury, has only turned out once for the Robins, where he showed how valuable he might be for the club by netting a goal on his debut against Watford.

Mebude is a more unknown quantity, having risen through the academy with Manchester City before joining his current parent club in Belgium.

This season he made just three appearances in the Jupiler Pro League, before returning to England with the Robins - the 19-year-old has since made two appearances for his loan club, but is yet to get his first start.

Bell's injury is sure to open up chances for the pair to prove themselves to Manning, and it will now be down to them to do so in the final part of this season.

Manning's side may already be looking ahead to next season

Currently 11 points below the play-off places, it is not impossible that the Robins will put together a consistent run of results and creep into contention for a promotion place, but another season in the Championship would seem most likely at this stage.

While undoubtedly focusing on the job at hand, some inside the club may have one eye on building on the current squad and preparing for a more sustained promotion charge next season.

If that's the case, then it appears that the chance has opened up for both Twine and Mebude to play themselves into the thoughts of the recruitment department at Ashton Gate, with the latter having a fixed fee agreement in his deal that City can trigger if they wish ahead of the summer.

Should they impress in the remaining games this season, and enjoy their time with the club, then it is feasible that a permanent deal could be on the line, with the chance to play their part in potentially going one better next season.