Nottingham Forest lost a top prospect four months ago during the January transfer window – something that surely irked those at the City Ground.
The Reds have a rich history of promoting young talent into the senior side.
In fact, you would actually have to go all the way back to October 1941 to find the last time Nottingham Forest named a matchday squad that did not include a homegrown player.
Unfortunately, one top talent slipped through the net in January – and has now signed a professional contract with a Premier League rival…
17-year-old signs professional contract months after leaving Nottingham Forest
Well, Nottingham Forest sadly lost George Hemmings to Aston Villa back in January.
The talented 17-year-old was highly regarded at the City Ground, with Steve Cooper even calling him into senior training when he was just 15 years of age.
Hemmings has clearly made quite the impact at Villa Park in just four months, as the Villans have now decided to tie him down to a professional contract.
In their announcement of the news, Mark Harrison – Aston Villa Academy Manager – said: “We are delighted to see George sign his first professional contract.
“Having joined us from Nottingham Forest, we are very pleased with how he has developed and settled into his new environment. He shows a lot of technical qualities with a very focused attitude that will hopefully one day see him develop into a first-team player.”
Hemmings made seven appearances for Aston Villa in the Premier League 2 before signing his professional contract – scoring one goal.
Academy staff will be devastated
When rumours of Aston Villa wanting to sign Hemmings first arose, a story from The Athletic claims that staff within the academy would feel that a ‘line in the sand’ would be drawn if the England U16 international did leave.
For those unaware of what that means, the term ‘line in the sand’ relates to the feeling that ‘no further advance will be accepted or made’ by definition.
It suggests people within Nottingham Forest’s academy may now be starting to lose faith in the club’s ability to produce homegrown talent to benefit the first-team.
While it was a major blow to lose Hemmings, Nottingham Forest have many other talents to focus on – hopefully, next season will be more settled, and these young prospects get a chance to shine.
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