Young Nottingham Forest midfielder Tyrese Fornah is close to joining Championship outfit Reading on loan, according to Courtney Friday.

The 22-year-old, who has already played for three other clubs on loan in his career, is set to bolster Paul Ince's midfield options going in to the 2022-23 season, with the Royals having lost a number of players from that area of the pitch this summer.

Josh Laurent and Andy Rinomhota have joined Stoke and Cardiff City respectively, whilst Danny Drinkwater's loan spell ended a couple of months ago and a deal to bring him back to Berkshire seemingly has not been explored.

Due to transfer restrictions implemented by the EFL last summer because of the club breaching financial regulations, Reading can only sign free agents or loan players still, and they are set to utilise the loan market once more in a deal for Fornah.

The 22-year-old has only ever featured four times for Forest since signing for the Tricky Trees in 2018, with the majority of his football coming in League One.

Fornah featured 39 times in the third tier for Plymouth Argyle during the 2020-21 season, and in his most recent spell away from the City Ground he played in 17 matches for Shrewsbury Town during the second half of the 2021-22 campaign.

The Verdict

Fornah's imminent arrival at the Royals will be a real test of character.

Having spent the majority of his playing career in League One - as well as featuring sporadically in Portugal for Casa Pia - Fornah will now have to make a big step up to fit in to Reading's team.

He has big shoes to fill as well, as both the aforementioned Laurent and Rinomhota were influential players that will be big misses.

The Forest man is potentially on a hiding to nothing this season, with Reading not likely to be able to put a strong squad together because of the restrictions they face.

Whilst Fornah may see plenty of action, it may end up being a steep learning curve.