Nottingham Forest talent announced as the winner of a prestigious award just weeks after joining

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Nottingham Forest focused on bolstering their academy ranks during the January transfer window as first-team targets proved hard to come by.

Evangelos Marinakis wanted a new striker at Forest. However, moves for Igor Jesus, Matheus Cunha and Yoane Wissa came to nothing and the Reds have stuck with what they have for the final months of the season.

With Forest sitting pretty in third place in the Premier League table it proved hard to find the right signings to improve the squad and it was refreshing to see the club not panic into adding the wrong players.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
3	Nottm ForestNottingham Forest	25	14	5	6	41	29	12	47

Forest wanted to make sure they didn’t take their eye off the ball when it came to the future. On deadline day, Joel Ndala joined Forest on loan from Manchester City, whilst Tyler Bindon joined from Reading with the defender returning to the Royals on loan.

• READ MORE: Forest gem suffers injury setback during loan spell

Tyler Bindon wins Halberg Award weeks after Nottingham Forest transfer

The central defender surely couldn’t get any more good news if he tried. Weeks after signing for Forest he’s now been named as the winner of a prestigious award back in New Zealand.

It was announced in the UK this morning that Bindon has won the Emerging Talent of the Year at the Halberg Awards ceremony which took place in Auckland.

Bindon came out on top after being named on the shortlist alongside Cormac Buchanan, Luke Harrold, Ethan Oliver, Levi Townley and Erice Van Leuven.

The 20-year-old signed for Reading from LA FC in August 2023. He’s quickly established himself in the senior team with the Royals and his form during 2024/25 prompted Forest to sign him during the January transfer window.

This award is extremely prestigious. The Halberg Awards are named after Sir Murray Halberg and have been running since 1949, celebrating people in both sport and society for many years in New Zealand.

Forest will have Bindon decision to make this summer

This does feel like a very decent addition to the Forest ranks. Bindon has experience of playing in the EFL and it’s clear that Forest won’t be overlooking talent that is emerging from the Football League.

Bindon will also have a player to help him settle. Chris Wood plays in the same All Whites team as Bindon on the international stage and it looks pretty clear that he will be showing Bindon the ropes.

The big decision for Forest comes over what to actually do with him. The Reds have Murillo, Nikola Milenkovic and Morato currently in the ranks and football won’t be easy to obtain for Bindon in the short term.

With that in mind, Nuno Espirito Santo might take a look at him in pre-season and have him around the training ground, with one eye on loaning him out before the summer window closes.

Either way, it looks as though Bindon is an exciting player for the future. This latest accolade that he’s received should further enhance his confidence and see him finish the season with a flourish with Reading.