It looks like the loan system has worked for one member of the Forest squad, but can it work for another?
Joe Worrall spent last year on loan at Rangers and it clearly served him well as he has been one of the key men for Forest this year, forming a great partnership with Michael Dawson. Speaking about his experience on loan, he talked about how he wasn’t a big fan of it at first, but learned to accept it and saw how much his game developed as a result.
“If you’d have asked me last year, did I need a loan, did I need a little bit of time away? I’d have said, no… I feel my knowledge of the game has got better. And even at such a young age, the experience I got up there was invaluable. For me to come back and start the season as I have, I’m really proud of myself that I’ve come in and got a space back in the team. To go on loan, come back and get in the team is a hard thing to do.”
Does his development give hope for another of Forest’s young guns out on loan? Specifically, I’m talking about Tyler Walker. Walker has got off to a great start at Lincoln City, scoring four goals and providing two assists in his seven league games which puts him on course for around 26 goals this season. Whilst that may be a bit high to aim for, you never know.
With Lewis Grabban getting on a bit at the age of 31, and turning 32 in January it might be time to start looking towards the future and plotting who is going to take him over. At 22 it’s more or less make-or-break time for Walker if he is to make an impression on the first team at Forest, so if he carries on his form at Lincoln, he could give Sabri Lamouchi a selection headache when it comes to next summer.
What do you think? Do you think that Walker’s start to life in League One is enough for him to start putting down a marker to make the team next season? Or do you think he’s still got a little bit to do before he reaches that mark?
