Artell captained a youthful Alex to npower League Two play-off final glory from centre-back last term, but he and midfielder Bell failed to earn new deals at Gresty Road.
On the prospect of replacing Artell, Davis told the Crewe's official website: "I am looking for a player with League One experience. It doesn't make a difference to me if it is a 30-year-old or a 25-year-old as long as they have played in the league and know what it is about."
Moves for midfield reinforcements would appear to be at a more advanced stage and some of the proceeds from Nick Powell's sale to Manchester United earlier this week could be invested back into the Railwaymen squad.
"We need another midfield player, possibly two now that Belly has left us," Davis added. "We are interested in one. He is under contract at a club and there would be a small fee involved in that so we will have to see if we can do something on that or not.
"There are also a few out-of-contract players that we are looking at who we think we could give an opportunity to and improve. One is a young player who we think has a lot of potential but has lost his way. We think if we could get him here he would only improve as a player and help us quality-wise."
