Nottingham Forest have announced that defender Riley Harbottle has joined Mansfield Town on a season-long loan ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.
The 21-year-old signed a two-year contract extension earlier this summer to commit his long-term future to the Reds with his previous contract due to expire at the end of last month. Harbottle will now head out on his second loan spell, and first within the English Football League.
After captaining Forest's under-23s last season, the centre-back travelled to Spain earlier this month with head coach Steve Cooper 's first-team squad for their training camp but did not feature in the friendly against Coventry City. The Reds have already signed centre-back Moussa Niakhate this summer, which sees Harbottle further shifted down the pecking order, but that didn't stop the defender from featuring against Burton Albion in midweek.
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Earlier this week, fellow central defender Jonathan Panzo also headed out on loan to Coventry. Forest look set to sport a new-look backline next season with Tobias Figuriedo another to leave the club and join Hull City on a free transfer after his contract with the club expired.
Harbottle finds a familiar face in Will Swan after arriving at Field Mill, with the forward signing on loan at Mansfield this time last week. Forest legend Nigel Clough is the manager at the League Two club who are again expected to push for promotion after losing 3-0 to Port Vale in the play-off final in May.
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