Former Nottingham Forest man Tyler Walker will plot the downfall of the Reds this evening – three years since arguably his defining moment in the Garibaldi.
The son of former Forest hero, Des, the striker left the City Ground permanently in the summer, signing a long-term deal with Coventry City.
Walker was recalled from Lincoln City in January after enjoying a solid first half of the 2019/20 campaign.
A goal against Leeds in February seemed almost certain to hand him more opportunities but they were very infrequent under Sabri Lamouchi.
He featured for just a single minute following the restart last season, with the Reds opting to cash in on a player who would have been out of contract next summer.
Natural
That decision wasn’t exactly welcomed by some supporters; with many feeling he was vastly underused.
He scored for fun at Mansfield during the 2018/19 campaign, firing 26 times to lead the Stags into the play-offs where they lost to Newport County.
Last season he notched 16 times for Lincoln before being recalled from the Imps during the January transfer window.
Walker, 24, scored seven goals in 45 matches for Forest and arguably his finest performance came three years to the day.
Mark Warburton handed him the chance to start in a home game against QPR, playing the striker on the right-wing.
The youngster repaid his manager’s faith by scoring two brilliant goals in a 4-0 rout, claiming the Man of the Match accolade in the process. Kieran Dowell and Barrie McKay scoring the other goals.
It should have been a defining moment in Walker’s career at the City Ground but he never managed to build on it.
He scored just once more during that campaign, with Warburton failing to decide whether he was a winger or a striker.
New chapter
Nobody can deny the talent on show that day against QPR, however.
It’s perhaps ironic that three years to the day, the striker comes up against he club where he rose through the academy ranks to play first-team football.
Walker’s time at Coventry hasn’t really got going yet, playing just 56 minutes of Championship football this season.
The striker will be desperate to show his former club what they’re missing as he returns to Trentside this evening.
Supporters will hope he doesn’t roll the clock back three years and breathe life into his Sky Blues career.
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