Nottingham Forest travel to Derby County in the Championship on Sunday.
Nottingham Forest’s Ben Osborn has admitted to still supporting arch rivals Derby County while on the Reds’ books.
Speaking to Sky Sports’ EFL Weekly podcast, the Derby-born midfielder did however stress that his affection for the Rams changed once he broke into Forest’s first team.
Ahead of Sunday’s encounter between the two sides at Pride Park, Osborn said: “Yeah, when I was younger, certainly [he was a Derby fan].
“I used to have a season ticket with my dad even when I was at Forest in the academy. Even until about under-18 (level) I’d still look out for results and still try and get to the odd game but as soon as you break into the first team it all changes and you almost lose the love for the team you support.
“Very rarely do you get footballers who still follow a team they’re not at, avidly. So you kind of lose that and just concentrate on your own team really.”
Despite his past loyalties, Osborn went on to admit that his stoppage time winner for Forest against Derby in January 2015 is the highlight of his career so far.
The two sides head into this season’s fixture in fine form, with Forest having won three straight league matches to ease their relegation fears, and Derby winning six of their nine matches since the return of former City Ground boss Steve McClaren.
Osborn has been one of his side’s most consistent performers this season and has recently attracted interest from Premier League duo Watford and Swansea City, according to the Sun.
The report claimed that Forest are braced for offers of around £3 million the 22-year-old – who is under contract until 2020 on Trentside – and could be tempted into a sale.
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