The Nottingham Forest Academy is one thing that often unites the club’s ever-divisive fan base. Over the years a number of players have come through the ranks and either made Forest millions – or become first-team stars. In some cases, both!
This season is proving another successful season for the academy at Forest. Josh Powell spent pre-season with the team at left-back, Joe Gardner has made his first-team debut in the FA Cup and right now,Ryan Yates is considered the club captain.
There was always going to be a bit of a question mark over how the academy would cope withoutGary Brazil. The hierarchy let the extremely popular figure run his contract down, with Craig Mulholland – formerly of Rangers – now overseeing things.
Last night, the ForestB-Team were in action as they took on Sheffield United in the quarter-final of the Premier League Cup. The Reds had done brilliantly in this competition so far and with the game at Bramall Lane, this was a good chance to play in a proper stadium.
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Ateef Konate stars as Nottingham Forest reach semi-final
Well, this was a performance to be proud of for the Forest youngsters. Under the watchful eye of head coachWarren Joyce, the Reds came through this one 3-2 with Ateef Konate scoring twice – despite only coming on at half-time.
It was the sort of performance that will leave fans wondering why Konate hasn’t played a bigger role with the first team. However, that can something prove tricky – especially with Forest now operating in the Premier League.
Konate was surprisingly kept on the bench for this one. Shortly after half-time, however, he came into the action and quickly got himself among the scorers. Two minutes later, he added a second and it was quite the night for the youngster.
As it did when the two first-team outfits met in the play-offs in 2021/22, Sheffield United couldn’t control their discipline. Owen Hampson was sent off late on, with Forest finishing the game with a man advantage.
Reds missed a trick with Konate this season
It’s perhaps a little bit of a mystery why Forest chose not to loan out Konate for the 2023/24 campaign. He has outgrown B-Team football a little bit and getting the chance to do whatDale Taylor has, for example, could have seriously helped him.
Konate is 23-years-old now and really he should be playing some men’s football. To this date, he has just one first-team outing to his name and that came as a substitute during a 3-0 win over Barnsley during the promotion-winning campaign of 2021/22.
The French performer has been quietly working his way through the ranks since he signed from Le Havre. He did have a short loan with Oxford United last season but that never worked out and their boss at the time, Liam Manning, sent him back.
Konate will be out of contract at Forest in the summer. As a result, he might now be playing to put himself in the shop window and it will be fascinating to see if an EFL club does take a chance on him next season.
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