Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper has spoken of the challenges of relying on the loan system.
Middlesbrough loanee Djed Spence caught the eye with a sterling performance in Tuesday night’s 1-1 draw against Sheffield United, and has impressed since making the move to the City Ground.
As have the Blades’ Max Lowe and Watford’s Philip Zinckernagel, while the Reds will be hoping Manchester United’s James Garner starts to find the kind of form he showed last season, while Jordi Osei-Tutu soon returns from injury rehabilitation at Arsenal.
Forest fans have expressed a wish to see some of the quintet, at least, put pen to paper on a permanent basis.
But regardless of what happens with their futures, Cooper says planning is already under way to ease the transition when players do eventually return to their parent clubs.
“It can be difficult,” he told NottinghamshireLive. “It’s not a new situation, and we won’t be the only club in the league which will have situations like that.
“You go into a loan agreement knowing it’s only temporary.
“We just need to be ready. We need to be ready as a club and as a first-team squad to make sure that whatever may happen in the future, we succession plan really well.
“That’s certainly something we’re working hard on behind the scenes - Dane (Murphy, CEO), the recruitment team, myself, and the coaching team as well, it’s a real joined-up approach.
“For me, I would love that we don’t have to rely on loans, because that means the young players in your team are yours and you’re developing your own assets.
“You know there’s a longevity to the development you’re doing with the players in that case, and you know you can work in a way that not only helps you short-term, but can help you a bit mid-term as well because you know players are with you for the duration.
“But we’re not in that place at the moment. We have to use the loan market, and we rely on it in certain ways. We need to maximise that.
“The pros and cons of the loans, we’ll just deal with as and when they come.”
And as the January transfer window approaches, Cooper says he and chief executive Murphy are getting on well together.
“It’s good. It’s very important we have a good relationship,” he added.
“We speak every day. He’s at the training ground often and is a very visible member of staff.
“He’s the boss.”
