There have been a number of recruitment near misses for Nottingham Forest down the years, and the name of Declan Rice can now be added to the list.
Big names that have gone on to enjoy stellar careers have passed through the club’s academy system.
For whatever reason, they were allowed to slip the net.
Passing judgement on emerging talents is never easy.
What is simpler is spotting potential in those already established on a senior stage.
Those such as Gareth Bale.
Forest famously came close to putting a loan deal in place for the Welshman back in 2009.
Record
At that time he was surplus to requirements as a faltering left-back on Tottenham’s books.
Bale ultimately decided that he would stay and fight for his spot in north London.
Once shifted onto the flanks, there would be no looking back.
A decade later, Bale is a two-time PFA Player of the Year, four-time Champions League winner and a man Real Madrid once broke the world transfer record to sign.
What could have been!
Another name which can now be dropped into that category is Declan Rice.
That is because the West Ham midfielder has revealed that he attracted interest from Forest 12 months ago.
Hauled off at half-time by the Hammers in a 4-0 defeat at Liverpool, an exit door appeared ready to swing open for the youngster.
At that time he was an aspiring Republic of Ireland international operating at centre-half.
He is now an England regular in a holding midfield role, one valued by The Sun at £40 million and said to have received admiring glances from Manchester giants United and City.
Crossroad
__VIDEO__
Rice has told FourFourTwo of a career crossroad which could have taken him to the City Ground: “West Brom, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa wanted me.
“I was pushing for Villa the most. I remember speaking to the manager here, saying that I should go on loan. He just laughed it off and said, ‘You’re not going on loan!’ He said, ‘You’re going to stay, and you’re going to play’. He told me that I had to get back into the team.
“I thought, ‘Well, if I’m not going to go on loan, then I have to give it everything here’. I realised that I needed to get much better if I wanted to play in the Premier League.”
Another tale of so near and yet so far.
Oh well.
The Forest faithful can console themselves with the fact that instead of getting Rice, Aitor Karanka acquired Michael Hefele to bolster his centre-half options and Panagiotis Tachtsidis to compete for midfield minutes.
Actually, hold on a minute…
Receive a digest of our best Nottingham Forest content each week direct to your mailbox
