Joe Gardner made an exciting loan move to Lincoln City on Friday, leading to Harry Toffolo sending a message of encouragement as he continues his development.
Gardner has begun to make quite the name for himself in the Forest sphere, with former defender James Perch praising Gardner for his performances in the Forest under-21 team.
He even had a taste of first-team action under the current Forest manager in the FA Cup last season as Nuno Espirito Santo was impressed by Gardner for his efforts in the side’s victory over Bristol City.
Toffolo hailed Gardner in the Bristol City win as well but the 19-year-old hasn’t featured in this campaign, making a loan move the perfect way for him to impress his parent club.
Gardner, who has been in the Forest Academy since he was just ten, will eventually want to break into the first team more permanently but Lincoln’s interest in Gardner became the ideal temporary solution.
The whole Forest squad will be hoping to see Gardner succeed in League One, highlighted by Toffolo’s Instagram message to the young striker.
Harry Toffolo posts Instagram message to Joe Gardner
After Gardner’s hattrick against a star-studded Everton under-21s team, it came as no surprise to see Lincoln push ahead with the loan deal in an attempt to fire them back into contention for the League One play-off positions.
Seeing the potential for his young teammate to succeed, Toffolo posted an Instagram story in reaction to the move, saying: “Great signing @lincolncity_fc – Enjoy him!”
Not only is this a nice gesture in general, but Toffolo’s position at Forest as a leader will also mean his words carry more impact than others, giving Gardner the perfect boost to help him hit the ground running.
Forest decided to keep hold of Toffolo despite him not making a single Premier League start this season precisely because of his influence in the dressing room, which will hopefully rub off on Gardner.
Coincidentally, Gardner’s first game at Lincoln will see him face up against another Forest loanee striker, Dale Taylor, someone he can use as an example of how to maximise a loan opportunity.
Joe Gardner can take inspiration from Dale Taylor’s profitable loan spell
Lining up against Taylor’s Wigan Athletic on Saturday, Gardner can learn a lot from how Taylor has acclimatised to League One football.
In 24 League One appearances, Taylor has scored six goals and provided six assists for a Wigan side that has struggled for goals this season, becoming the main goal threat at the club after Forest-linked Thelo Aasgaard departed for Luton Town in January.
Like Wigan, Lincoln are another side struggling for goals with fellow loanee Bailey Cadamarteri leading their scoring charts with only five goals to his name.
Therefore, Gardner has the opportunity to, like Taylor, become a leading source of goals for his new side until the end of the season, potentially doing enough to impress the Forest coaching staff in the meantime.
Espirito Santo vowed to help Gardner after his FA Cup appearance last season, with this opportunity at Lincoln in League One the perfect chance to show the Portuguese manager that he can help Forest on his return.
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