Welcome to a new series of articles on The Quartermen, where we look at transfer rumours that have come to light on social media, and dissect whether they would be feasible, or are likely pure fiction.
Our first rumour comes from a now defunct Bristol City ‘insider’ account on X, which reported that on-loan winger Sam Bell will be recalled by the Robins in January, with another wide player in Harry Cornick joining the Chairboys in his place.
Straight off the bat, it seems like Wycombe would be getting the short end of the straw in this deal, as they’ll be losing one of their most threatening players for a man who has played four league matches in 18 months.
Cornick joined Bristol City from Luton Town in January 2023, but has struggled to have much of an impact at Ashton Gate, playing 68 times, scoring five goals and chipping in with two assists, which is a lower tally than what Bell has managed at Wycombe since his arrival in September.
The Robins have been trying to offload the 30-year-old for a while now, but haven’t been able to find a suitor for the winger, leaving him to slowly waste away in the reserves for the last 18 months, with the odd substitute appearance every so often.
Cornick has made just one substitute appearance in the Championship this term, playing just six minutes. He also managed to land himself a three-match ban for his involvement in a post-match melee when Bristol City hosted Millwall before Christmas, where he was an unused substitute.
Now, the question is whether Wycombe would accept losing Bell and being handed Cornick as a replacement, and the short answer is, no.
Replacing a young attacker who is one of your most reliable outlets for goals with someone who has barely played 90 minutes of league football in the past 18 months isn’t the type of business the Chairboys need to be doing this winter.
It may represent a low-risk or easy option for the Buckinghamshire club should Bristol City want Bell back, but you’d like to think they’d look at other options should he be recalled, rather than accepting the first player that’s thrown their way.
This signing would be very similar to the Cauley Woodrow deal. An ageing, out of favour player joining on loan to try and serve as a stop-gap until the summer, and this sort of business is exactly why Wycombe find themselves in the position they’re in now.
Had Cornick been playing fairly consistently, then it wouldn’t be too much of an issue, but the simple fact is he hasn’t had the minutes under his belt in recent years to warrant Wycombe even taking a punt on him, especially with how close they are to the bottom four, despite being in ninth.
It will be interesting to see what happens with Bell, but Cornick isn’t the answer if that dreaded day does come where Bristol City recall the 23-year-old.
All-in-all, the Bell part of the story could well come true, but it just seems highly unlikely that Wycombe will settle for someone like Cornick who’s barely kicked a ball in the last 18 months.
