Nottingham Forest have a proud history with younger players and Steve Cooper is a master at nurturing them.
Forest are currently in their first season playing in the Premier League at both under-23 and under-18 level.
Andy Reid and Warren Joyce are doing some great things and there seems to be plenty of talent coming through the ranks.
With that in mind, we’ve looked at three young players to keep a close eye on at the City Ground in 2022.
Dale Taylor
It’s been quite a 2021 for the young striker. In November he made his first outing for Northern Ireland, stepping off the bench during a 1-0 win over Lithuania.
He’s yet to make his first-team debut at Forest but he’s firmly on Cooper’s radar.
The challenge for the 18-year-old is to keep playing well for the under-18 and under-23 teams and hope to earn a chance at senior level.
Watch this space.
Ollie Hammond
Another under-23 player with a bright future is central midfielder, Hammond.
He has been a regular in Andy Reid’s team during the club’s maiden season at Premier League 2 level.
Hammond has scored six goals in 10 outings and also made his debut for the first team during a Carabao Cup defeat against Wolves.
Detlef Esapa Osong
The powerful 17-year-old is probably some way off first-team football just yet but he’s performing really well.
He is, however, tipped for a bright future and he looks set to be a big player for the club in the future.
Osong has netted five goals for the under-18s this season and also notched in the FA Youth Cup win over Bristol City.
Forest look to have some brilliant strikers coming through the academy setup.