From England midfielders to the most expensive player in his nation’s history, Forest will wish they’d kept hold of these talented youngsters.
Nottingham Forest’s affluent academy may be the envy of most in English football right now but, as recent history will attest, their ‘next generation’ don’t tend to stick around too long. Here’s what they could have had.
Karl Darlow – Newcastle United (combined deal with Darlow)
Ousting experienced Championship shot-stopper Lee Camp and then shrugging off competition from Dorus De Vries, the talented young goalkeeper looked every inch Forest’s next number one as soon as he stepped between the sticks. A few years later, he’s still in the second tier, though not for long with Newcastle United cruising to promotion.
Simon Francis – Released
Forest mad from birth, a fresh-faced Francis saw his childhood dream fall to pieces after he failed a trial at his boyhood club. Not that it’s held him back. These days, Francis is an established Premier League regular, punching above his weight with Bournemouth.
Wes Morgan – Leicester City
Forest must have thought they got a good deal when they earned £1 million from captain Morgan’s switch to Leicester City in 2012. Isn’t hindsight a wonderful thing? Four years later, Forest’s long serving centre-back was lifting the Premier League title in the blue of their Midlands rivals.
Michael Dawson – Tottenham Hotspur
Just six years after dropping out of the Premier League, Forest tumbled into the third tier for only the third time in their history, their prize assets being stripped by the top flight sharks. Alongside Andy Reid, committed centre-half Dawson departed for Tottenham, playing an integral part in Spurs’ famous 2010/11 Champions League campaign, encompassing dramatic wins against Inter and AC Milan.
If current club Hull City are going to survive, the leadership of Dawson will play a major role.
Jamaal Lascelles – Newcastle United (combined deal with Darlow)
Captaining Newcastle at the age of 23, Lascelles has come a long way since being farmed out on loan to Stevenage in 2012. A technically gifted, intelligent defender with a true winning mentality, don’t bet against the England Under-21 international earning a senior cap sooner rather than later.
Shaun Wright-Phillips – Released
While SWP never came close to fulfilling his immense potential (a move to Chelsea usually has that effect on young Englishmen), Forest fans could still be forgiven for wishing they’d got the chance to watch the diminutive speedster dance down the wing at the City Ground. Yet, like so many before him, he was released for being ‘too small.’
Funny, Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta did alright. These days, he’s enjoying a lovely early retirement in the MLS with New York Red Bulls alongside brother Bradley.
Jermaine Jenas – Newcastle United
After an exceptional breakthrough season at Forest, Jenas turned plenty of heads in the upper echelons of the English pyramid. Leeds and Manchester United were linked, but Newcastle won the race for one of the brightest prospects in the game.
His rapid rise showed no signs of slowing either, with a first England cap preceeding his PFA Young Player of the Year award in 2003. However, a series of debilitating injuries soon turned his promising career into a case of ‘what might have been’, although Jenas is now offering some hope for malnourished fans of insightful punditry.
Tom Huddlestone – Released
The broad shouldered, 6ft 3ins powerhouse was let go by Forest at the age of just 12 for a perceived physical weakness. Had no one at the City Ground heard of a growth spurt? After rocking up at Midlands neighbours Derby, the classy midfielder enjoyed eight largely successful years at Tottenham, winning four England caps in the process. He now lines up alongside Dawson at Hull.
Oliver Burke – RB Leipzig
Yes, price tags are more inflated than ever in this increasingly opulent footballing market, so the fact that Oliver Burke is the most expensive Scottish player in the history of the game after moving to Germany for £13m (BBC Sport) should be taken with a pinch of salt. What cannot be disputed, however, is that his current employers are leading the way in the Bundesliga, glancing down at Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.
Burke is yet to start a single game this season in Ralf Hassenhutl’s settled squad, but his impact off the bench means he’s hardly been marginalised. An assist on his debut against Dortmund wasn’t a bad place to start paying off the hefty fee either.
Marlon Harewood – West Ham
Bear with us. Harewood may not have been the most prolific striker the world has ever had the pleasure to witness but he was most certainly effective, particularly in a four year stint at West Ham immediately after leaving Forest for pocket change and peanuts. The powerful targetman netted 14 times in his debut Premier League season in 2005/06.
Patrick Bamford – Chelsea
Entirely forgettable, and goal devoid, loans at Burnley, Crystal Palace and Norwich aside, the 23-year-old Bamford still has time, and plenty of talent, on his side. He may have left Forest too early in his career, but an exceptional campaign at Middlesbrough in 2014/15, comprising of 17 goals and the Championship Player of the Year award, should not be forgotten.
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