Billy Sharp has revealed that he wanted to join Nottingham Forest permanently after a loan spell at the City Ground earlier in his career.

The striker signed for the Reds on loan from Southampton back in the summer of 2012 and went on to score ten goals as Forest missed out on the play-offs by a single point.

A permanent deal didn't come off, with Sharp going on to feature for Reading, Doncaster and Leeds before returning to his boyhood Blades.

However, after a question from a fan on Twitter about whether he wanted to stay, the 34-year-old made it clear he loved his time at Forest and would have extended it if possible.

"Yes I wanted to sign of course, was a great club to be at enjoyed every minute of my time at Forest. Fans were amazing towards me and my family and will forever be grateful for that."

The past few years have been remarkable for Sharp, with the striker firing Sheffield United to successive promotions and he scored his third league goal of the season as Chris Wilder's side beat Norwich City prior to the international break.

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The verdict

Looking back, this is certainly one that Forest will regret as Sharp has gone on to enjoy a brilliant career and the Reds have lacked a prolific scorer over the years until Lewis Grabban arrived.

In fairness though, whilst Sharp was good for the Reds, he did only score ten goals, even if he impressed at times.

So, he deserves credit for improving since leaving and Forest will be hoping that they can win promotion to come up against the striker next season.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.