Nottingham Forest have a stunning youth academy, but the football club doesn’t always get everything right.
When it comes to academies, not every player can walk the path towards first-team stardom, and in fact, many young stars will fall by the wayside.
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In terms of Forest, however, this season’s Europa League campaign has allowed the likes of Zach Abbott and Jimmy Sinclair to get minutes, with Keehan Willows, Jack Thompson and Archie Whitehall all proving regulars on the bench.
For other Forest gems, the EFL is where they find themselves and now a player tipped for stardom at the City Ground has announced his departure.
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Isaac Davies announces he’s departed Nottingham Forest
One deal that might have escaped the attention of the Forest fan base on Deadline Day was the decision made by Davies to leave the City Ground.
The Welsh performer had been at Forest for 10 years, and in 2024, he was named as part of The Guardian’s NextGen series that picks one player from each Premier League club to be the next big thing.
After becoming a regular with the team’s under-18s and B-Team in recent years, Davies decided to take the advances from Cardiff City and sign a professional contract with the League One outfit.
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He posted on Instagram: “After 10 years, I have decided to leave Nottingham Forest. Thank you to the staff and players for the last decade.”
Moments later, he shared another message which simply read, ‘Happy to be here at Cardiff City Football Club. Can’t wait to get going.”
With Premier League football being common practice over the last four years, it has been harder for youngsters to break through.
However, the club does have a proud record of a long stretch of games, during which at least one academy graduate has been involved in a matchday squad.
Ryan Yates is the club captain, whilst Abbott will hope to deputise for the suspended Neco Williams when Forest play Leeds at Elland Road on Friday night.
Davies clearly didn’t feel that the pathway was proving particularly clear for him, and now he will hope to showcase what Forest are missing with strong form for Cardiff City.
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