When the season finishes in a few weeks, many Nottingham Forest fans will look back on it and feel incredibly underwhelmed. 

They will be underwhelmed at their underperforming side and also underwhelmed at what the future seems to hold.

After allowing Aitor Karanka to splash the cash in the summer, the Reds were installed as one of the pre-season favourites to win promotion but that is not what has happened.

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Three defeats on the bounce, with the latest coming against Blackburn Rovers on Saturday, have all but ended any hope that Martin O'Neill's side now have of making the play-offs.

So attentions can now begin to turn to next season, although plenty of uncertainty remains, not least who will be managing the club.

But there have been plenty of impressive performances from the club's young up and coming players.

Matty Cash and Ben Osborn have been useful assets in attack whilst Ryan Yates has been a revelation in midfield.

But perhaps the most remarkable season has come from a player sent out on loan back in the summer.

Striker Tyler Walker was sent to League Two Mansfield by Aitor Karanka, with the hope of giving the 22-year-old some much-needed first-team experience.

And he has grabbed that opportunity emphatically, scoring 20 goals and helping fire the Stags into the automatic promotion picture.

It would be a huge surprise if whoever is in charge at the club in the summer did not seriously consider the 22-year-old for first-team action next season.

After splashing so much money during the current campaign it is likely that the powers that be at the City Ground will be reluctant to shell out as much again.

Therefore, using the likes of Walker, who they already own and clearly have a  lot of potential, is surely the sensible thing to do.

It could even allow them to free-up space on the wage bill by selling another attacking option, helping the club's overall financial position.