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Opinion: Sabri Lamouchi made the right decision to axe Nottingham Forest defender

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Nottingham Forest confirmed on Friday that Jayden Richardson joined Exeter City on a season-long loan deal. The move may have surprised supporters as the 18-year-old was in Forest’s first-team and provided backup at right-back to Matty Cash. Carl Jenkinson’s permanent arrival pushed Richardson down the pecking order, however, so Sabri Lamouchi had no choice but to let him go.

If the Reds manager doesn’t believe his promising academy talent will get many opportunities this season, he’s forced to loan him out to a club willing to give him minutes. The fact Richardson has joined a side in League Two suggests he’s not yet a Championship level defender. The right-back shone in the reserves last season and deserves competitive football in 2019/20.

Tendayi Darikwa isn’t expected to return from injury until 2020, but Cash and Jenkinson are more than good option options in his stead. Richardson would have been third-choice under Lamouchi and may have spent a lot of the season on the periphery. It’s worth noting that he’s yet to make a senior appearance for Forest and only turns 19 in September.

A year away on loan will help Richardson develop his talent before pushing for first-team football next season.

Read Crippy Cooke’s previous article

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Sports journalist who is an avid football fan, enjoys debunking transfer rumours, loves to write pieces about players out in the cold and takes a large amount of pride getting a predicted XI 100% correct.