Ryan Yates learns from £100,000-a-week Nottingham Forest star every single day

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Nottingham Forest captain Ryan Yates is a player who never fails to divide opinion at the City Ground.

Despite playing over 200 times for Forest, certain sections of the fan base just seemingly can’t warm to the Reds midfielder.

Yates hasn’t always been a regular in the team under Nuno Espirito Santo and perhaps wouldn’t be playing regularly were it not for injuries.

Danilo and Ibrahim Sangare are currently out long-term and that has provided Yates with a window of opportunity.

The 26-year-old is a man for the big occasion and it was claimed last week that Yates helped Elliot Anderson settle into the squad.

Jamie Carragher has praised Yates previously and tomorrow night the skipper will likely be in action against Crystal Palace.

• READ MORE: Ray Parlour predicts Nottingham Forest vs Crystal Palace result

What Ryan Yates said about James Ward-Prowse

The Reds landed Ward-Prowse on a season-long loan from West Ham in the summer transfer window.

Last time out against Chelsea, Ward-Prowse was sent off and he will miss the game with Crystal Palace tomorrow night.

Yates has namechecked Ward-Prowse when quizzed on the competition for places at the City Ground right now.

He told the Forest Focus podcast: “I don’t really care to be honest. If anything I just take motivation from it and I just think what an opportunity for me, they’re going to make me a better player.

“I can take things that I see from them every day, Ward-Prowse, for example, is such a top lad, a fantastic footballer with so much more Premier League experience than me, to not look at that in a positive would just be silly and a missed opportunity.

Ward-Prowse earns £100,000-a-week and it’s not clear what percentage of that Forest are paying during his loan spell.

Competition for places is now strong at Forest

The absolute best thing about Forest this season is the strength in depth that the Forest head coach now has on offer.

Evangelos Marinakis worked tirelessly in the summer to ensure that the boss had all the tools to compete in the Premier League.

Forest have to stay grounded but there is a real sense that the club can kick on and really stabilise in the Premier League this season.

Having players like Ward-Prowse at the club really is great news and his experience this season should prove vital.

Yates is a mainstay though and despite a plethora of new recruits, his place in the team isn’t in question at the moment.

It’s great to hear that he’s embraced someone like Ward-Prowse joining the club and clearly he’s up for the challenge of keeping his shirt.