ALFIE Pavey could be given his chance in the Millwall first team after John Marquis joined Leyton Orient on loan last week.
Neil Harris has stressed he wants four strikers in his first-team squad and Pavey has put himself in the frame to fill the gap with seven goals for the U21s so far this season.
The 20-year-old centre-forward made his debut for Millwall in the 4-2 defeat to Wolves on the last day of last season.
He joined the Lions in May 2013 from Maidstone United where he enjoyed a prolific final season in the youth ranks scoring 124 goals.
However, Jamie Philpot, another striker honing his craft with the Elite Development Squad, but who has suffered bad luck since his debut in the same game at Molineux lasted just eight minutes before he went off, could have to wait until the new year for his chance as he recovers from an injury he picked up in an U21 game against Leeds.
Harris is also not ruling out looking to the transfer market to add to his attacking options.
He said: “I think that’s where, again, we have to ask are we going to boost the ranks. If it’s a loan signing for a period of time then that means making sure we get the right player who fits with how we play, getting in the right character.
“We’re mindful of the fact that we’ve got Alfie scoring goals in the U21s. He came into our academy late from the non-league so he’s still learning the game, but he has done well.
“Obviously we’ve got Jamie who’s probably ready to be involved in the first team but is out injured for a similar sort of time as Jimmy (Abdou).
“So if it’s a loan for a period of time we’d certainly consider it but, as ever for me, it has to be the right person.
“He needs to be slightly different to what we’ve got. We almost had John Marquis vying with Steve Morison and Lee Gregory and playing similar to them, or trying to mould him to be like Aiden O’Brien. But no one’s Aiden O’Brien, he’s a unique player.
“So it might be someone who can give us a little bit more height, or somebody who can play a little bit similar to Aiden in that deeper role but also gives us a different threat going forward. It’s just making sure we don’t get the same sort of player to what we already have.”