Nottingham Forest have always had at least one academy graduate in their first-team ranks, but they’re cutting it thin right now as Ryan Yates is currently the only one.
Nuno Espirito Santo hasn’t shied away from rotating his team at times and providing opportunities to younger players, with Zach Abbott getting his chance in the Carabao Cup.
Paul Taylor was really impressed with Abbott after his performance in the cup, which has set him up for a potential feature once the FA Cup comes around.
Ryan Yates is one man who knows what it takes to rise from the academy and become a star in the first-team ranks at Nottingham Forest.
Being from the academy and understanding the club, David Prutton says that he thinks Yates is a player who actually does care about being a Nottingham Forest player.
Having seen his rise to stardom, Nottingham Forest have created a special plan for youngsters.
The special program Nottingham Forest have for a select few players
Brennan Johnson is another player who has set the benchmark for players coming through. His move to Tottenham Hotspur this summer shows exactly what’s possible if you make the most of opportunities.
Although, Nottingham Forest are going toe-to-toe with Spurs right now, and they hold a huge pull and power of their own, with many stars being born at the City Ground.
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Interestingly, seeing Ryan Yates and Johnson’s rise has made the club create a specific program tailored to developing a certain handful of special talents.
According to the Athletic, players who are identified with the potential to become a future star are put through a special program to get them closer to the first-team.
Craig Mulholland said this.
“We have something called the ‘TPPP’ — the talented player performance programme.
“There are some players who will be identified as high-potential talents. It is our job to really push them. If we have the next Brennan Johnson coming through, we need to accelerate his learning. We delve deeper.
“Key aspects such as psychology, nutrition, performance, coaching, health and wellbeing, analysis and pathway are presented in a tailored performance dashboard.
“These reports will show if there are any areas where we need to push that kid, to prevent any barriers to him becoming a first-team player.
“We do wellbeing questionnaires every morning and the players wear Oura Rings, which monitor their heart rate. We know their stress and anxiety levels, 24 hours a day.
“They download that every night and our psychologist and wellbeing team can monitor it and see, for example, if a player is not sleeping well before games.”
Ryan Yates must still feature in Enzo Fernandez’s nightmares after the grilling he gave him on Sunday when Nottingham Forest travelled to Stamford Bridge.
He’s been entrusted by Nuno Espirito Santo to unofficially lead this side, and he does a perfect job of it, with Yates’ rallying cry before the Liverpool clash working wonders.
Because he’s not always involved in goals or assists, his performances often go unnoticed. He’s the one responsible for breaking up play and doing the dirty work for his side.
Every team needs a Ryan Yates.