Nottingham Forest have confirmed details of a fourth friendly to be played during the World Cup break.
The Reds will take on Stoke City at Loughborough University on Friday, December 2, 7.30pm kick-off, with supporters able to attend. It completes Forest’s line up of fixtures scheduled during the pause in the season.
After taking on the Potters, Steve Cooper ’s men will head to Greece for a training camp. While there, they will face Atromitos behind closed doors, followed by a meeting with fellow Evangelos Marinakis-owned side Olympiacos. The Reds will then make the trip to Spain for a meeting with Valencia.
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Keeping fit
Nottingham Forest loan defender Renan Lodi is training with another club during the World Cup break - and it's not parent club Atletico Madrid.
The 24-year-old Brazilian left-back has returned to his native country where he has been pictured training with former club Athletico Paranaense.
Lodi came through the academy at Athletico Paranaense and graduated to the first team before leaving to join Atletico Madrid in 2019. The Brazilian side have now posted about Lodi being with them on their Instagram account.
They say the defender is there "keeping his shape" after failing to earn a place in Brazil's World Cup squad for Qatar. It remains to be seen if he will play for Forest in their forthcoming friendlies in Greece and Spain.
Working hard
Jesse Lingard is putting in the hard work during the World Cup break as he prepares for the return of the Premier League next month.
The competition is on pause for the next few weeks due to the tournament in Qatar, with players not taking part for their nations given some time off training with their clubs. A lot of players have taken the time to go on holiday and soak up some winter sun.
That seems to be the case with Nottingham Forest summer signing Lingard. But while he’s away from England, he is still keeping his fitness up, ready to hit the ground running when the Reds take on Blackburn Rovers in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup on December 21.
And he’s not alone in putting the hard yards in. Lingard looks to have met up with Brighton and Hove Albion striker Danny Welbeck with the two training together. Lingard would have been coming up through the youth ranks at Manchester United when Welbeck made his first team debut at the club.
Bright future
Nottingham Forest have a proud tradition of bringing young players through the ranks, and the next generation of talent will be aiming to add their names to the list.
Breaking into the first-team might be tougher with the Reds in the Premier League. But in Steve Cooper, Forest have a manager who takes a keen interest in youth development and is prepared to give youngsters a chance.
A number of academy players regularly train with the first-team, while others are currently out on loan building up their experience. We take a look at some who will hope to be the next ones to make the breakthrough from the Nigel Doughty Academy.
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