Nottingham Forest midfielder Jake Taylor has a ‘good chance’ of catching the eye of Sabri Lamouchi as the Reds return to training this week, according to Port Vale’s Tom Pope.

The 21-year-old has spent this season away from the City Ground, plying his trade in Sky Bet League Two on loan with Port Vale.

The young midfielder has undoubtedly been one of Vale’s standout players of the season so far, scoring seven goals in a total of 25 appearances across all competitions.

Five of those goals have come in League Two, with John Askey’s side occupying eighth spot in the league standings and sitting only one point off the play-offs before the league campaign was brought to an end.

Taylor will have learnt a lot during his time at Vale Park, and he will now return to Forest hoping to catch the eye of Sabri Lamouchi, and potentially break into the first-team between now and the end of the season.

Speaking to Stoke on Trent Live, Port Vale leading goalscorer Tom Pope has backed Taylor to impress on Trentside, and he has a ‘good chance’ of impressing Lamouchi.

He said: “Jake was superb for us and we are going to miss him. But he’s got a new contract at Forest and this is a good chance for him now.

“Taking him on loan worked out really well for us and him.

“He basically came on trial with us at the start of last season before signing but did so well that the manager signed him up, then he certainly took his chance.

Forest have a fantastic chance of finishing in the Championship play-offs this season - Lamouchi’s men sit fifth in the table, 10 points off the automatic promotion places.

The Verdict

I think it’s unlikely that Taylor will break his way into the first-team this season.

These final nine games will be so vitally important for Forest and they need to rely on their current squad to help get them over the line before introducing any youngsters to the side.

Taylor will be given his chance in the future though, with Brennan Johnson and Alex Mighten both impressing in the first-team this season.