Nottingham Forest have a number of players out on loan at the moment, with Jamie McDonnell starring at Mansfield Town.
The FA Cup ended prematurely for Forest this season after a penalty shootout defeat to Wrexham, but Nottinghamshire will have a participant in round four after Mansfield shocked Sheffield United.
Nigel Clough has some fond memories of playing FA Cup football as a player, whilst he also took the Blades to the last four during his time in charge at Bramall Lane.
McDonnell was in the starting line-up as almost 5000 Mansfield fans took over in South Yorkshire, with the Stags winning a seven-goal thriller against the team who were 90 minutes away from the Premier League back in May.
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Jamie McDonnell flexes potential with solid Mansfield performance
It’s fair to say that McDonnell will have played better for Mansfield this season, but to say he was up against a top Championship outfit, he didn’t look fazed at all.
The striking thing to recognise about McDonnell is that he’s very accomplished when it comes to getting on the ball and not panicking.
It was McDonnell’s midfield partner, Louis Reed, who stole the show with two scrumptious strikes, but the fact that he was allowed to attack came due to the Forest loanee’s ability to do the ugly side of things.
The 21-year-old came up against seasoned Championship stars in Oli Arblaster and Djibril Soumare, but McDonnell can take a lot of credit from the match, given that he’s not used to opponents of this standard.
⭐Jamie McDonnell stars for Mansfield Town in the FA Cup against Sheffield United
Will McDonnell make the grade at Nottingham Forest? Let us know in the comments…👇
McDonnell looks Championship quality
Mansfield might be left sweating this month, with Championship clubs likely to be looking at McDonnell with the future in mind, given his exploits in League One.
It does look as though playing for Forest – certainly as long as the club remains in the Premier League – will be a bridge too far for McDonnell, but the second tier looks to be his level right now.
With Clough looking to continue a fine run of form and close the gap between the Stags and the play-off places, he will hope that Forest do let McDonnell remain at One Call Stadium for the remainder of the season.
McDonnell is a fine example of the great work being done at the Forest Academy and hopefully, it’s not too long before another player walks the path towards senior stardom on Trentside.
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