Oxford United chief Ed Waldron admits they'd like to keep Lewis Bate.
The midfielder is on-loan at Oxford from Leeds, having arrived in August.
"We'd all love to bring Lewis Bate back, but we have to be realistic with these things," Waldron said on BBC Radio Oxford's Five Minute Fans Forum.
"I can see Lewis being in the Championship next year so we don't want to waste the summer chasing him and then not getting him."
Bate, 20, has scored once and found three assists from his 28 League One matches this season.