Nottingham Forest’s next generation are keeping the current crop on their toes, as some of the Reds’ rising stars have been training with the first-team.
Head coach Sabri Lamouchi has said he won’t be afraid to call upon those youngsters if needed, in a jam-packed run-in to the end of the season.
And defender Joe Worrall admits the Under-23s players will soon be giving senior members of the squad cause to look over their shoulders.
“They’ve been good,” said the centre-back.
“They’ve bought into the way the manager wants to play and everything the first-team does - how we apply ourselves every day.
“They’re a great group of lads. Gary Brazil (academy manager), Chrissy Cohen (Under-23s coach) and all the academy staff have done a great job.
“They can offer us different outlooks on the game.
“People are familiar with Alex Mighten and Brennan Johnson, but some of the other lads who have come up have been fantastic.
“They’re fit and strong, and they look like they are certainly capable of pushing us for our spots in the future.”
Lamouchi has singled out recent addition Marcus McGuane and Yassine En-Neyah as two who have impressed, while Johnson made his first league start in last Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Sheffield Wednesday.
The club have a proud tradition of bringing through young talent, and as a product of the Nigel Doughty Academy himself, Worrall is pleased to see that continue.
“It’s nice to have that. It’s not just a case of, ‘we’re going to sign him from X for X amount of money’,” he said.
“You’ve got to look behind you, in the academy and think, ‘right, these boys are ready to take this shirt’.
“That’s certainly what I wanted to do when I went up to the first-team; I was itching to take the shirt of the centre-half who was in front of me.
“It’s nice to have that.”
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