Ola Aina and Anthony Elanga react to Nottingham Forest academy triumph, they absolutely love one player

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Nottingham Forest fans will be immensely proud of the academy for their Premier League International Cup triumph on Wednesday, with Ola Aina and Anthony Elanga praising one gem.

Under the coaching of Warren Joyce, the Forest Academy is thriving, with Wednesday night’s cup win over Lyon a testament to this.

Even those starlets out on loan have impressed, as Dale Taylor won Wigan Athletic’s Player of the Year award to set up a flurry of talent for Nuno Espirito Santo to assess in pre-season.

Taylor earned praise from Ryan Lowe at the end of his loan spell, but it is one of the gems who stayed at the City Ground this season who caught the eye of Aina and Elanga on Instagram.

Ola Aina and Anthony Elanga react to Zach Abbott’s penalty

Zach Abbott scored the winning penalty as the final ended 0-0 after extra time, meaning the academy stars had to show great composure to hold their nerve in the shootout.

They had the perfect group to take inspiration from, though, as the first team triumphed in three shootouts to reach the FA Cup semi-final. Stars of the senior squad were therefore quick to appreciate the impressive nature of the victory.

Firstly, Ryan Yates showed his love through emojis for the whole squad involved, whilst Aina was more specific in his praise for Abbott, saying: “That’s my boy!!”

Elanga also singled out Abbott for his penalty heroics, showing that the 18-year-old has made an impact on the senior players, potentially earning him more chances under Espirito Santo.

Nuno Espirito Santo must give Zach Abbott more chances

Espirito Santo hailed Abbott for his performance at Wembley against Man City, but the young defender hasn’t earned another minute of action ever since.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
4	NewcastleNewcastle	35	19	6	10	66	45	21	63
5	ChelseaChelsea	35	18	9	8	62	41	21	63
6	Nottm ForestNottingham Forest	35	18	7	10	54	42	12	61
7	Aston VillaAston Villa	35	17	9	9	55	49	6	60
8	B’mouthBournemouth	35	14	11	10	55	42	13	53

Of course, the dramatic run-in to earn a Champions League spot will be taking priority right now, so the Forest manager may not want to throw Abbott in at the deep end, but he must be in the club’s plans for the coming campaign.

The club were said to be looking at defenders as Federico Gatti rejected a move to Forest, but that money can be used to bolster the attacking output of the team whilst giving Abbott the role in the first team that his cameos have warranted.

Abbott watched Tiger Woods videos in preparation for Wembley to get himself ready mentally, with the winning penalty on Wednesday night showing that he has the strength to perform in the highest-pressure scenarios.