The Aston Villa midfielder has been loaned to Nottingham Forest twice in the past two years.
Gary Gardner has taken to Twitter ahead of Aston Villa’s visit of Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
The meeting, which will see two European Cup winners compete for the first time ever outside the top flight, pits Gardner’s current employers Villa, against the side he has played for on loan in each of the past two campaigns.
A product of the Villans’ youth system, Gardner has appeared in all but one of his hometown team’s competitive fixtures since returning from his second spell on Trentside.
The 24-year-old, who previously spent time at Coventry City, Sheffield Wednesday and Brighton & Hove Albion, played arguably the best football of his career at Forest.
However, Gardner has left no illusions as to where his allegiances will lie when his old club visits Villa Park.
The midfielder posted the following via his Twitter account on Friday:
Gardner’s Villa have suffered a slow start to their first season in 29 outside but could jump to within a point of Forest if they win on Sunday.
The two clubs have undergone potentially pivotal changes in personnel since their last outings, with Jonathan Kodjia and Albert Adomah making big-money moves to Villa Park and free agent Nicklas Bendtner joining Forest, who lost key man Oliver Burke to RB Leipzig 12 days ago.
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