Brighton manager Graham Potter believes that Aaron Connolly's anticipated loan move to Middlesbrough will benefit all parties.
The 21-year-old Galway native has featured just six times in all competitions - four of those in the Premier League with just one top-flight start - for Brighton this season.
Asked if a short-term move to the second tier would be beneficial for all parties, Potter replied: "I think it is.
"I've nothing to confirm yet but I think that's the intention.
"Aaron is at the stage where he needs to play football and, if we can find the right fit, then that will work for him and for us.
"There comes a point when you need to play, you need to let football do the talking."
Connolly has won eight Ireland caps since making his senior debut in 2019, shortly after bursting onto the scene with two Premier League goals for Brighton against Tottenham, but was not involved in the squad for the November window for fixtures against Portugal and Luxembourg.
Speaking that month, his international manager Stephen Kenny said that the player was "at a crossroads in his career" and mooted the possible benefits of a temporary move to the Championship.
"Whether he gets enough football between now January, and he has to decide if he needs a loan period to get regular football... that's no reflection on Brighton.
"Brighton have done brilliant work behind the scenes with Aaron to develop him through their academy, and with other players as well.
"In the Championship for example, you've got a match Saturday, you've got a match Tuesday, you've got a match Saturday. You've 44 games of that. You discipline yourself then.
"That kind of focus, rather than having one match a week where you don't know whether you're going to play or not, and you're probably not going to play... Over a period of time, even to the strongest of characters, that can erode your spirit.
"It's just very difficult to get sustained chances for any young player as a centre-forward in the Premier League.
"He's a goalscorer. He's a threat with his pace. He can be a very important player for Ireland going forward.
"You've seen Shane Duffy coming back into the Brighton squad and be reinvigorated. Like every player, it's not always an upward curve in your career. You have to come through periods of maturity and just wait for your opportunity."
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