Sam Bell left Bristol City on loan on transfer deadline day, joining League One club Wycombe Wanderers for the seasonBristol City and Gerhard Struber allowed Sam Bell to depart on loan(Image: EFL and Getty Images)

Sam Bell could return from his loan spell with Wycombe Wanderers and have an impact in a Bristol City shirt, Gerhard Struber has insisted, after the forward completed a deadline day loan move away from Ashton Gate.

Bell was one of three players to exit BS3 on a temporary basis in the final hours of the summer transfer window. The 23-year-old will spend the season in League One with Wycombe Wanderers, having been limited to just a single Championship appearance in the opening weeks of the campaign.

The City academy graduate, who is in the final year of his contract in the West Country, got off to the perfect start at Adams Park last weekend as he scored just 14 minutes into his debut as the Chairboys ran out 2-0 winners over Mansfield Town. That strike was Bell’s first competitive goal since the Reds’ win over Southampton in February 2024.

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With his loan covering the remainder of the 2025/26 campaign and his deal in south Bristol set to expire next summer, there is a chance Bell has already played his final game for the Robins. However, Struber has opted not to close the door on a potential return.

“Yes, of course,” the head coach replied to Bristol Live when asked if there was a chance Bell could come back and make an impact in City colours. “I think this is the plan in the end, that we find for every single player the right platform to grow, and this is a loan deal.

“Of course, we use it, and then we have in the end a player, maybe back, maybe soon back, with more games, with more experience and normally, the loan deals they’re always very, very helpful for the boys to develop and jump with a different attitude back to Bristol City.

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“I could see in the pre-season that he has very interesting abilities,” Struber continued on the decision to allow Bell to leave on deadline day. “At the same time, the last two years he has less game time, and right now it’s super important that he jumps in game time.

“I think with his new club, he has a big chance for that.”

Alongside Bell, young prospects Jamie Knight-Lebel and Adam Murphy also left Ashton Gate on loan on transfer deadline day. The pair of 20-year-olds, who travelled to Portugal with the rest of Struber’s squad for City’s pre-season training camp, are set to spend the season under the management of Bristol Rovers icon Ian Holloway at Swindon Town.

Despite playing an important part in the first team’s preparations for the new campaign, neither Murphy nor Knight-Lebel managed to make a competitive appearance for Struber’s side prior to the September international break. Instead, the young duo featured for Dennis Baraznowski’s Under-21s side.

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Although the appointment of Baraznowski as senior Professional Development Phase coach was made with the aim of aiding the pathway from Under-21s football to the first-team, Struber was keen for both players to feature at a higher level.

On Knight-Lebel and Murphy’s late loan moves, the Robins boss said, “I think this makes sense in the end. They need a different platform at the moment.

“I think the resilience in the Under-21s is a little bit too less and the game time in our situation, with our goals and also, how is the level in our team, it’s a little bit too high and we search for something between.

“I think I am very, very happy that they have at the moment a different chance in different teams to grow. These are very interesting players and we have a big eye on them.”

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