Tyler Walker played a full 90 minutes as Mansfield drew 1-1 with Lincoln City on Monday night. The 22-year-old has impressed on loan since joining from Nottingham Forest last summer and could give Martin O’Neill a lot to ponder ahead of the 2019/20 campaign.
Walker has made 41 appearances in all competitions for the Stags this season, scoring and creating 24 goals. He’s bagged 17 goals in 35 League One games and is joint-third in the scoring charts – behind Tranmere’s James Norwood (25) and MK Dons’ Kieran Agard (18).
Forest are having problems in attack without a fit and available Lewis Grabban, with O’Neill having switched between Daryl Murphy, Karim Ansarifard and Leo Bonatini. Walker knows where the back of the net is, but whether his exploits in League Two will be respected enough to earn him a reprieve in the Championship remains to be seen.
The former England u20 international has made 38 appearances in all competitions for Forest, contributing eight goals. A lack of playing time in recent seasons has seen Walker loaned out to Burton Albion (March 24, 2016 – Ma 31, 2016), Stevenage (August 31, 2016 – January 12, 2017), Port Vale (January 17, 2017 – May 31, 2017) and Bolton Wanderers (January 31, 2018 – May 31, 2018), scoring a total of seven goals in 26 games.
