This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict’ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Max Lowe joined Nottingham Forest on a season-long loan from Sheffield United just four days before the transfer window slammed shut.

The 24-year-old did not feature for the Yorkshire club in August but appeared on the bench for The Reds against Derby County last week.

Lowe, who progressed through the ranks with The Rams, joined the newly-relegated Championship club last year, putting pen-to-paper on a four-year contract.

The current occupier of the left-back spot at Forest is Gaetan Bong, however, he was told to train with the U23s in summer, with it seeming that he was close to a departure.

Bong then returned to the first-team set up, with Forest struggling to recruit full-backs this summer.

With Lowe coming in at Forest, we have asked three of our writers here at FLW to share thoughts on whether they think Bong will now drop out of the starting XI...

George Dagless

Without a doubt.

It's obvious Forest and Hughton needed an addition in this particular part of the pitch and Lowe is a player I would expect to come in and immediately feature for the first-team.

I think Reds fans have rather grown tired of Bong in all fairness and it might be best if they shake things up, with Lowe obviously getting his opportunity to show what he can do in a red shirt.

He's got plenty of talent and now a bit of a point to prove after this arrival at City Ground and I expect Hughton to get him straight into the side and let him have the opportunity to get on a run of matches.

This is a change I expect to be happening very soon.

George Harbey 

Absolutely. I’d be shocked if he wasn’t dropped.

Bong was told earlier this summer that he was allowed to find a new club, having fallen out of favour on Trentside and been consigned to the infamous ‘bomb squad’.

A shortage of options at left-back have meant that he has had to play there, but he’s found it tough and he hasn’t played well at all.

They’ve brought in Max Lowe, who has now had time to settle in and get to know his teammates, and Jordi Osei-Tutu, whose injury doesn’t look too serious, can fill in on either side.

There are far better options than Bong, to put it bluntly.

Ben Wignall

I fully expect Bong to be left out of Hughton's plans from now on and I think Forest supporters are expecting the same to happen.

Bong has never quite convinced in the red shirt and he's only been used this season you'd imagine as he was the only one available to play at left-back.

His actions against Coventry City were the final straw for some and it was perhaps a little surprisingly that Forest didn't try to get him out of the door on deadline day.

Lowe has enough experience at Championship level to slot straight into the Forest line-up and fans will be probably be excited to see what he can do.

Hughton may also see Arsenal loanee Jordi Osei-Tutu as an option at left-back - the signing of Djed Spence on deadline day and also Mohamed Drager means that the club are slightly oversubscribed at right-back so Osei-Tutu's versatility may mean that Bong isn't seen again at the City Ground.