Nottingham Forest head coach Sabri Lamouchi has claimed that 17-year-old Alex Mighten can earn his chance to play for the Reds in the Championship this season.
The teenager is regarded as one of the brightest young talents at Forest and has made two senior appearances for the Reds so far this season.
The highly-rated winger made his first-team debut for Forest against Arsenal in the Carabao Cup earlier in the season and made his first start for the Reds in the 2-0 defeat at Chelsea in the FA Cup just over a week ago.
The youngster impressed with his performances and was included in the matchday squad in the Championship for the first time in his career at the weekend, for the 1-1 draw Reading at the Madejski Stadium.
Mighten watched on from the substitutes' bench for the dramatic draw. Forest thought they'd won the game when Ben Watson scored deep into injury time, only for an own goal from Tobias Figueiredo to snatch a point for the Reading.
However, Lamouchi has admitted that Mighten could play for Forest in the Championship this season and admitted that if it was different circumstances against Reading, he might of got a chance on the pitch against the Royals.
When asked if Mighten could feature for Forest in the league, Lamouchi told Nottinghamshire Live: “I don’t know. If he deserves it, why not? I need all good players. I need all quality players.”
He added: “I didn’t include him (on the bench) just because of his performance against Chelsea. I was so surprised about his performance (at Stamford Bridge). It was not a gift to bring him with us.
“Probably in a different situation, he can help us. But we decided to do something else.”
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The Verdict
Mighten is a very talented footballer and he could have a very bright future ahead of him at Nottingham Forest. He's an exciting young player and he showed with his performance against Chelsea that he's got a lot of potential.
Even though he didn't get on the pitch against Reading at the weekend, it will have really benefited him to be in and around the first team squad.
Judging by these comments for Lamouchi, if Mighten continues to work hard and keeps on impressing in training, there's a good chance that he could get a chance to make his league debut for the Reds in the near future.
Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.