Nottingham Forest could be set to seal a deal for a promising youngster in Bobby Jack McAleese, as reported by the Belfast Telegraph.

The Championship side have looked sharp under new boss Steve Cooper and while the boss and the club continue to work on bringing in fresh talent to improve the first-team, it looks like they are also keeping an eye on potential talent for the future too.

Their latest target has been Bobby Jack McAleese, who currently plies his trade in Northern Ireland for Coleraine.

He may not be playing at as high a level as the Championship right now but the talent looks like it could be there for the youngster, who is currently just 16-years-old.

In fact, his country have seen his potential too, as he was brought into the fold for Northern Ireland's Under-17 training camp. It shows how highly-regarded he is by those in his country and Forest have also identified his talents too.

Instead of potentially losing out on the player further down the road, the Championship side are now ready to bring him to the City Ground to aid in his development and ensure they have some of the brightest talents in their ranks to call upon in the future. He's unlikely to play a part near the first-team as of yet considering his age but he certainly looks like he could be one to keep an eye on in the future.

If he can fulfil his potential, then it will be another superb talent developed by Northern Ireland.

The Verdict

There isn't much to go off in terms of stats or performances for Bobby Jack McAleese so far, with the player somewhat of an unknown quantity to many.

He is well-regarded in Northern Ireland though and his national side must see something in him to have called him up to their Under-17 training camp already. Forest too clearly believe that there is plenty of potential in the player to have swooped to bring him in now.

Given the chance to play for their reserve side - which is where he is more than likely to spend most of his time upon signing - he could really come on even more and develop. A loan move down the line would aid it even further and would mean that Forest have a stockpile of good young talent to eventually turn to.

It looks like the Championship side are doing plenty to strengthen both their first-team and academy over the course of this transfer window.