Explained: Who was Nottingham Forest’s trialist that scored for the u23s?
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Nottingham Forest u23s drew 1-1 with Sheffield United on Monday evening and had their trialist getting on the scoresheet. Leigh Curtis of Nottinghamshire Live revealed the player in question was Liam Sole
As per Transfermarkt, the 19-year-old is a midfielder who came through the youth ranks at MK Dons and was promoted to the first-team in 2017. Sole never made an appearance at senior level, however, and was instead an unused substitute on three occasions.
The lack of opportunities led to Sole joining St. Albans City on loan (January 25, 2019 – May 31, 2019) before his release from MK Dons over the summer. He’s been picked up by Forest and could earn himself a contract if he continues to make headlines while on trial.
Sabri Lamouchi has shown a willingness to give youth a chance, with Arijanet Muric (20), Joe Worrall (22), Yuri Ribeiro (22), Alfa Semedo (22), Matty Cash (22), Carvalho (22), Rafa Mir (22) and Brennan Johnson (18) racking up 2948 minutes of Championship football between them this season.
Sole would likely join up with the u23s, however. There’s stiff competition in the engine room from Ben Watson, Samba Sow, Semedo, John Bostock and Ryan Yates in the first-team, so he’ll have more success getting minutes in the reserves.