Sam Byram faces an uncertain future at West Ham this summer as his loan spell at Nottingham Forest in the Championship has come to an end.
The 25-year-old has had his season completely wrecked by a serious knee injury which saw him miss eight months of action for Forest after joining them late in the summer transfer window on loan for the season. He went on to make just eight appearances for Martin O'Neill's side but still managed to make a lasting impression.
Byram will head back to West Ham this summer for talks with Manuel Pellegrini but the chances of him breaking into the Chilean's plans - he was happy to let the right back go in the first place - are slim with Ryan Fredericks and Pablo Zabaleta ahead of him in the pecking order, plus the emergence of Ben Johnson this season.
O'Neill has said he would be keen to have Byram back permanently at the City Ground but believes the defender will want to prove himself in east London. Whether he is allowed to or not remains to be seen as Pellegrini will discuss futures of players with them across this week.
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The Forest boss said of Byram: "I think Sam has done fine for us, yes. He is going back to West Ham and I don’t know how that situation is unfolding there.
"Pablo Zabaleta has just signed a new contract there and they have the young lad, Ryan Fredericks, as well, who used to be at Fulham. He is a nice kid, who has done exceptionally well.
"I do not know what Sam’s precise position is. I have only discussed it with him, in three or four sentences.
"But I think he might think that, now he is properly fit, West Ham might be for him. But we will see."
After an injury disrupted campaign, Byram has thanked the Forest fans for their patience as he recovered from injury. His return coincided with a good end to the season for his loan club as they kept three clean sheets in their final three Championship games and won all three as well.
Writing on Instagram, the former Leeds United defender said: "Nice to end on a win at home.
"Pleased to have played some games before the end of the season after missing the majority with my knee injury. Big thanks to everyone at the club and the fans support over season."
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The Hammers will be discarding a few players this summer as Pellegrini plots his path to success for next season and fringe players like Byram will be on the list of players who could likely depart east London between now and the start of the 2019/20 campaign.
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