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Cape Town - Manchester City are expected to recall winger Patrick Roberts from his loan spell at Norwich City in January if he remains on the fringes at Carrow Road.
The 22-year-old recently penned a contract extension at the Etihad Stadium and his bosses were satisfied he would get plenty of starting opportunities with the Canaries, following their recent promotion back to the elite.
Roberts, however, is yet to start in the Premier League and boss Daniel Farke has hinted the Londoner, who has previously had loan spells at Celtic and Girona, may have to bide his time a little longer on that front.
He was eventually given a starting run out in Tuesday's shock Carabao Cup 1-0 loss to League Two side Crawley Town, failing to impress like the rest of his team-mates on the night.
City signed Roberts from Fulham for £7 million back in 2015 but he has yet to make a senior appearance for the Manchester giants, who surprisingly knocked back reported interest from Leicester City only last year.
The club's backroom staff feel Roberts still has plenty to offer and they will continue to monitor how his playing time is being managed at Carrow Road in the coming months.
That could mean the respective clubs holding an honest discussion around the Christmas period, although Farke is at pains to underline his admiration for a player who won three SPL titles during two separate loan stints at Celtic Park.
With all teams bound to pick up injuries, Roberts is likely to get his opportunity in the Premier League with the Canaries, but he will need to do much more than what he produced against Crawley.
Norwich can't really afford to allow Roberts to head back to the Premier League champions early, as strength in depth is not something they really possess.
Impressing north of the border with Scottish Premiership champions Celtic is one thing but it's another to impress in the Premier League.
Roberts needs to get game time and form under his belt at Carrow Road or he might have to build back up to the top flight with a possible spell in the Championship.
It remains to be seen what the Citizens decide to do with the youngster but it's hard to see him breaking into the City first-team anytime soon, considering the talent on show at the Etihad Stadium.
Other teams in the Premier League and Championship will be monitoring the situation, especially if the games for Norwich don't come before Christmas.
