Aitor Karanka will bring 22-year-old back to Nottingham Forest next summer – opinion

Tyler Walker has been in fine form for Mansfield this season and could give Aitor Karanka a selection headache when he returns to Nottingham Forest at the end of the campaign. The 22-year-old has been outstanding in League Two and hopes to hit 20 goals by the time his loan deal comes to an end at Field Mill.

He’s bagged 12 goals in 23 games this season, four of which have come in his last three appearances, and Karanka will surely be paying attention to his progress. Walker scored both goals in Mansfield’s 2-1 win over Grimsby on November 6 and revealed what targets he’s set for himself this season in a post-match interview.

The striker said to Nottingham Live: “I just want to score as many as I can to help the team – but [score] over 20 goals at least. I should have had three or four (against Grimsby) but obviously it wasn’t meant to be. I’m just happy about the win mainly and about the five goals in three games so hopefully that can continue.”

Forest aren’t short on attacking talent, with Karanka currently having Lewis Grabban, Karim Ansarifard and Daryl Murphy to choose from, but Walker could be a useful player to call upon. Murphy turns 36 in March 2019 while Ansarifard is finding his feet at the City Ground, so The Reds’ boss might need another in-form forward in the squad.

Walker, who has contributed eight goals in 38 games for Forest, is doing everything in his power to give Karanka a reason to monitor his progress. All he can do is score goals and develop this season and the rest should take care of itself.

Crippy Cooke’s previous article