Oliver Hammond was a surprise name in the Nottingham Forest squad at Liverpool and he got himself a top star’s shirt.
The 20-year-old was on the bench for the Reds, with Steve Cooper missing a number of stars through injury.
Hammond has captained the under-21s this season and he’s highly thought of at the City Ground.
The central midfielder has made appearances this season, with both of his outings coming in cup competitions.
Hammond was perhaps a surprise inclusion in the squad for the trip to Anfield given he’s not been named since August in the Premier League.
MORE FOREST STORIES
Still, the player is one for the future. With Forest in a difficult situation, it does make sense to continue including the fearless youth.
Hammond will face an interesting summer. He’s perhaps outgrown under-21 football now and a loan move could be on the cards.
However, that could change if Forest are relegated and the player could get a chance to star in pre-season if the Championship beckons.
His form for the young guns this season has been good. He’s scored five goals and claimed five assists from 18 appearances during 2022/23.
Hammond might not have made his Premier League debut yet but he did take a memento from his trip to Anfield.
Some footage from Liverpool’s official YouTube channel has shown him swapping shirts with Jordan Henderson.
The Reds’ captain was seen coming out of the dressing room to give Hammond his shirt, with the £190,000-a-week star taking the Forest player’s in return.
Hammond swaps shirts with Henderson after making Forest squad
Clearly, Hammond is a huge fan of the Liverpool captain. It was a nice touch for the vastly experienced player to give his shirt to the Forest man.
The youngster is perhaps edging closer to his debut. Given that the Reds are fighting relegation, however, throwing him in would be a risk.
The future is definitely bright though. Hammond is a player fancied by the coaches at Forest and Cooper wouldn’t include him if he didn’t think he had quality.