New Mansfield Town manager John Dempster says he “would love to have” Tyler Walker “next season” after the Nottingham Forest striker impressed on loan. Walker scored 26 goals for the Stags in 2018/19 and is expected to play an important role back at Forest after impressing Martin O’Neill.
Dempster, however, is looking to sign a centre-forward this summer and believes Walker would be ideal. As per Nottinghamshire Live, he said in a press conference: “I spoke to Tyler and wished him well. He spoke really highly of the football club and I would love to have him back next season.”
O’Neill has Lewis Grabban, Daryl Murphy, Karim Ansarifard and Hillal Soudani to choose from in attack, but Ansarifard (2) and Soudani (2) have scored only four goals between them. Grabban has netted 16 for the season. As a result, Forest could benefit from a prolific centre-forward and Walker could fit the bill perfectly.
The 22-year-old was outstanding in League Two and nearly led Mansfield to promotion via the playoffs – the Stags lost on penalties to Newport County in the semi-finals. Walker missed a spot-kick in the shootout.
O’Neill is expected to give the young striker a chance in pre-season after monitoring his progress over the last five months which could see Walker in contention of a starting place in 2019/20.
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