The Reds have several promising youngsters out on loan at present, with varying degrees of success.
Nottingham Forest’s Tyler Walker in action with Bolton Wanderers’ Rob Holding
With the season coming into its final stretch, Nottingham Forest manager Mark Warburton will be looking forward to completely assessing his squad before he makes any decisions regarding their futures – including loan players.
The Reds have quite a few young players out on a temporary basis learning their trade, while there is also the odd older player out on loan as well – here’s how they’ve all been doing.
Jorge Grant
The 22-year-old midfielder, who scored on his full debut for Nottingham Forest against Tottenham Hotspur in the League Cup, has been in excellent form for Notts County on loan, and has almost singlehandedly dragged them out of relegation danger. Grant has four goals in nine matches for Kevin Nolan’s side in League Two, and with his contract up in the summer, one of Warburton’s first tasks should be to keep the talented midfielder at The City Ground.
Tyler Walker
Forest legend Des Walker’s son is tipped for a future at Forest, and as such, has been spending time away on loan to build up his experience. Firstly, he went to Stevenage – where he hit four in nine – before injury curtailed that move, but went on loan again to Port Vale in January. However, despite scoring two in six for Vale, injury struck again and it seems unlikely that Walker will feature again this season.
Lica in action for Porto
Lica
The 28-year-old summer arrival never really got a fair crack at Forest, starting just two of his seven appearances at The City Ground. The Portugal international returned to his homeland in the January window on a temporary basis, with Portuguese top flight club Estoril, and has become a fairly integral player in their set-up. In six matches, Lica has scored once and claimed one assist, leaving some wondering whether he’ll get another chance at The City Ground next season.
Ryan Yates
The 19-year-old midfielder, who can also operate in defence, was rewarded with a new contract at Forest following his fine form in his first loan spell this season at non-league Barrow, and the January transfer window allowed Yates to get some Football League experience with Shrewsbury Town. So far, Yates has featured five times for the Shrews, and with four starts out of those five, it seems he’s already made a strong impression.
Nottingham Forest’s Tim Erlandsson
Tim Erlandsson
The Swedish stopper, who is tipped to have a big future in the game, let alone with Forest, has had an interesting season. Firstly, he was loaned out to non-league side Barrow – for whom Erlandsson made three appearances – but in January, he was loaned to Swedish side AFC Eskilstuna. Eskilstuna will be competing in their first ever Allsvenskan – Swedish top flight – campaign in 2017, with the Swedish season running from April to November. Erlandsson has been given the number one shirt, so it appears as if the 20-year-old will play a key role in their historic season.
Gerry McDonagh
McDonagh, who has featured once for Forest in a league match, had also been sent out for a development year – firstly at Wrexham in non-league, then at League Two side Cambridge United in January. The 19-year-old found the net five times in 22 appearances for Wrexham, and has so far scored once in 10 matches for Cambridge. Six of his 10 appearances for the U’s have come from the bench, so it seems like he’s a plan B of sorts for the club.
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