Bristol City forward Harry Cornick is close to completing a January loan move to Stevenage, Bristol Live understands, but the deal is not yet believed to have been 100 per cent finalised at the time of writing.

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Cornick, who is 30 years old, has been a fringe member of the Robins’ first-team squad over the course of the last two seasons, with his last competitive start for the Reds coming in March of 2024.

The former Luton Town forward has featured in 15 matchday squads under Gerhard Struber this season, but has only made one appearance. That sole outing came in City’s Ashton Gate win over Hull City in August, when he replaced Emil Riis with six minutes to play.

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Just last week, Struber admitted it would be “perfect” for the fan favourite to get more playing time, something that simply isn’t on offer in BS3 currently. With a temporary move to Stevenage understood to be close, regular football is expected to be more likely under Alex Revell in League One.

Cornick’s current contract in south Bristol, which he signed when he arrived from Kenilworth Road in January 2023, is set to expire at the end of the season. Should he depart on loan this month, as expected, he will likely have already played his final game in City colours.

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The 30-year-old was brought to Ashton Gate under the management of Nigel Pearson in the wake of Antoine Semenyo’s move to Bournemouth, alongside Anis Mehmeti, almost exactly three years ago.

In his first half season as a Robin, Cornick played 17 times, scoring once, and continued to be a regular fixture under both Pearson and Liam Manning during the 2023/24 campaign. In his first full term as a City player, the forward made 45 appearances in all competitions and popped up with two Championship goals.

As the Reds secured a first play-off finish in nearly two decades last season, however, he found his minutes much more limited. In total, he featured on just five occasions, with his most recent goal coming in March of last year, when he turned home from close range in a 2-0 win over Millwall at The Den.

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With his game time even more restricted over the course of the last few months, it looks as though the 30-year-old is set to drop down a division to continue his career, before his time at Ashton Gate likely officially comes to an end this summer.

Under the management of Revell, Stevenage currently sit eighth in League One, just two points adrift of the play-off places and sixth-placed Bolton.

The Boro also have two games in hand on the teams around them in the table, so while they have only won one of their last eight league matches, they could climb into the top six with a couple of good results.

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Should Cornick make the temporary switch to the Lamex Stadium as expected, he will be the latest of a handful of City players to depart south Bristol on loan this winter.

Earlier this week, the Robins confirmed that young prospect Elijah Morrison would be spending the remainder of the campaign under the guidance of Robbie Savage at Forest Green Rovers, while last week saw Josh Stokes join Stockport County and Olly Thomas move to Dunfermline.

In terms of movement into BS3, Struber has already bolstered his ranks with the signings of Ranel Young, Sam Morsy and George Earthy. On top of their early business, the Reds remain keen to secure the services of another striking option, and have been linked with Sturm Graz midfielder Tomi Hovart.

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