Nottingham Forest under-23s captain Riley Harbottle has signed a new two-year contract with the club and could be heading out on loan this upcoming season.
The centre-back made two appearances in the opening two rounds of last season's Carabao Cup against Bradford City, which was his senior debut, and Wolverhampton Wanderers at the City Ground while Chris Hughton was still in charge. Harbottle was also part of the matchday squads against Blackburn and Stoke City in back in August without being called upon as a substitute.
At 21 years old, the defender primarily featured for Andy Reid's youth side that finished fourth in Premier League 2 Division 2 which qualified them for the play-off semi-final stages despite it being their first season at that level after only having Category One status granted last summer.
READ: Brice Samba hits back in Forest contract row as Man Utd wages claim made
READ: Forest transfer was unthinkable for Samba but is now necessary after outburst
Harbottle, who has been at the club's academy since the foundation stage, spoke after signing his new contract. “I’m delighted to sign a new contract," he told the club's website. “I just want to have a successful season and now everything is sorted, I’m buzzing to get pre-season underway.”
His head coach shared the player's delight. "We are delighted that Riley has signed a new contract with the club," Reid said. "He is somebody who has developed into a real leader and we are proud of how far he has come.
"He had a tough first half of last season but bounced back to have a really strong second half of the season. We are looking forward to helping him continue his development and potentially exploring the options for him to head out on loan.”
