Mansfield Town manager David Flitcroft was asked if he believes Tyler Walker will spend the season at the Field Mill, amid rumours that the Nottingham Forest striker could be recalled from his season-long loan spell in January.
Walker has been in fine form with Mansfield, scoring 15 goals in 30 games in all competitions and could be brought back to the City Ground to bolster their attack for the second-half of the season.
Given Lewis Grabban’s form in 2018/19 – scoring 14 goals in 24 Championship games – Walker is likely to be playing second fiddle in attack. The 22-year-old might be better off staying at Mansfield as a result.
Flitcroft is quietly confident of keeping the striker, saying to Mansfield’s official website: “(We look at) anyone that’s going to improve us. We have room to get three players in, but that could change.
“The Tyler Walker one is important, because we’ve had really good communication, and thankfully our owners have a good relationship with Nottingham Forest. You sometimes get excited, but you have to wait for that signature. Until it is, we have to keep our options open.”
Forest have a prolific striker in Grabban, but the Reds are short on replacements in his absence. Aitor Karanka has Daryl Murphy, Karim Ansarifard and Hilel Soudani to choose from, but Murphy has been short of goals since his return from injury while Ansarifard has been short of form and playing time.
Soudani has been sidelined with injury too, so Forest aren’t blessed with viable depth in the final third. They’ve failed to score in five of their last seven games in all competitions too, so it wouldn’t be a shock to see Walker return. His form in League Two isn’t a guarantee that he’ll shine in the Championship, however.
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