Nottingham Forest: Cooper can unearth Brennan Johnson 2.0 in ‘quality’ teenager
Perhaps more so than in recent years, Nottingham Forest is developing a wealth of talented players through their youth system.
While the Reds have always been a team that has prided itself on producing stars from youthful talent, some have come into their own on their return to the Premier League.
Joe Worrall and Ryan Yates, in particular, provided the foundation for their promotion campaign’s success. Despite Forest investing heavily in talent across Europe, Steve Cooper still sees the two as essential to his plans and as shining examples of the talent that can be developed.
The emergence of players Matty Cash and Brennan Johnson, who were sold for a combined £61.5m after flourishing at the City Ground and illustrating how giving young talent a chance can save teams millions, are two even bigger examples of that improvement in production quality.
Following his electrifying performances in the Premier League, the latter was traded to Tottenham this summer, and the story of his journey is being used to inspire young people who want to follow in Brennan Johnson’s footsteps.
There are many of young players at Forest who have the potential to stand out among the seniors and join the first team, just like Johnson did.
Who is Nottingham Forest’s biggest academy talent?
Yates and Worrall, who are now in their mid-20s, have solidified their status as Trentside’s first-team regulars by making a combined 366 appearances since joining the senior squad.
Since their promotion, Alex Mighten, 21, has slid down the pecking order and has been loaned out to Belgian pro league team KV Kortrijk. The 21-year-old was a regular in the Championship, appearing 67 times in total.
Lower down, the defensive pairing of Aaron Donnelly and Zach Abbot, who made their first-team debuts in the Carabao Cup last season and impressed, show that their future is secure. Abbot was named one of the Guardian’s top Premier League prospects last season.
The Reds have a highly regarded striker who has been predicted to succeed Johnson even though Forest has an abundance of defensive talent. Dale Taylor is the name he goes by.
Who is Dale Taylor?
In the summer of 2020, Forest acquired Taylor from Linfield because they could see that he had the makings of a rare talent.
He made his first-team debut for the Danske Bank Premiership team at the age of just 15, when he came off the bench in a 5-1 victory against rivals East Belfast, after shining for the club’s U18s.
The teenager had some time to adjust, as was to be expected, but once he was comfortable, his goal-scoring prowess blossomed. Before being promoted to the U23s, he scored eight goals in 14 games for the 18s.
Taylor’s development was aided by moving up in age group; during the first half of last season, he made eight Premier League 2 appearances and contributed six goals. A number of EFL clubs expressed interest in Taylor, but Burton Albion ultimately won the competition for his services in January.
A transfer to Burton provided the 19-year-old a taste of senior football, which he took to like a duck to water, similar to when Johnson was loaned out to League One club Lincoln City to boost his development in the 2020–21 season.
Taylor entered the Pirelli Stadium with a goal in his debut, earning the praise of fans who had earlier referred to him as “quality” by fellow Northern Ireland striker Conor Washington.
After he scored four more goals, there were reportedly ten clubs interested in loaning him out, but Wycombe Wanderers ultimately prevailed in that particular race.
After scoring his first goal for the Chairboys in a 3-2 victory over Leyton Orient, a calf injury has since sidelined him, and he must now compete with Brandon Hanlan or Sam Vokes for a spot in the starting lineup.
Taylor still has optimism that his road to become a Forest star because Johnson’s career really took off in the lower tiers of the EFL despite that slight setback.
