Nottingham Forest have enjoyed a fantastic run since Steve Cooper was appointed, with several players impressing under the new boss.

One of those has been Djed Spence. The 21-year-old right-back secured a late switch to the East Midlands from Middlesbrough in the summer window after falling out of favour under Neil Warnock.

And, it's fair to say it's a decision that Boro will regret right now, as they see Spence performing very well on a consistent basis.

However, with Chris Wilder now in charge of the Teesside outfit, and Boro having a recall clause on the player in January, it's unclear where his future lies and here we look at the latest...

Return to Middlesbrough

You have to say that this looks very likely now. As mentioned, Boro have the option to bring Spence back, so if they trigger that then there's not much that Forest can do.

With Wilder in charge, the energetic, attack-minded youngster would seem the ideal fit for the right wing-back role, where he has impressed on the whole under Cooper.

The new boss was in the stands to watch Forest take on Preston over the weekend, with Spence's performance sure to have caught the eye.

Stay with Nottingham Forest

But, these things aren't always clear-cut and it's clear to see that Spence is absolutely loving his time at the City Ground.

So, if he makes it known that he wants to stay, then Wilder may decide that it's not worth trying to keep a player who doesn't want to stay.

Nevertheless, with Spence contracted at the Riverside Stadium until the summer of 2023, Boro are still in a strong position, so Forest would have to stump up a decent fee if they want to do a permanent deal.

Ultimately, it's still unclear where Spence will be playing beyond the January window and there will be big decisions for Boro, Forest and the player to make ahead of the New Year.