In recent years, Nottingham Forest have gained a reputation for developing youngsters, giving them first-team opportunities at the club before going on to achieve great things in professional football, whilst making the club a hefty profit.
Ryan Yates, the Reds' current captain after the loan departure of Joe Worrall to Besiktas, came through the Nigel Doughty Academy before forcing his way into the first-team picture in 2019 after multiple successful loan spells in the Football League at sides such as Notts County and Scunthorpe United.
Current Aston Villa right-back Matty Cash is another great example of the calibre of players who have come through the club's academy, with Cash transforming his game under former boss Sabri Lamouchi before earning a Premier League move to join Villa in a £16m deal back in 2020.
The club also sold Patrick Bamford to Chelsea for £1.5m back in 2012 – a nice figure for a youngster who had only featured once for the Reds' senior team.
However, 12 years on from the deal, the club may regret selling him with the striker going on to be successful in the Championship and Premier League – with the 30-year-old scoring 58 goals in 178 games for Leeds United.
All the players previously mentioned have all developed well, with the trio all enjoying success up and down England's football pyramid. However, the club made a brilliant call to sell a youngster from the academy back in 2019 after just a handful of first-team appearances.
Arvin Appiah's stats at Nottingham Forest
Winger Arvin Appiah came through the Forest academy just like Cash, Bamford and Yates – with the youngster having a lot of potential to be a success at the City Ground.
Appiah was a regular in Forest's academy sides, with the youngster featuring in competitions such as the FA Youth Cup for the Reds' U18s.
He quickly caught the eye with his pace and direct dribbling, with his performances earning him a first-team call-up for the EFL Cup tie away at Burton Albion in October 2018.
The forward came on as an 85th-minute substitute for his first-team debut, with Appiah managing to get on the scoresheet, reducing the arrears as Forest exited the competition at the fourth round stage.
His display at the Pirelli Stadium resulted in a spell of substitute appearances for the Reds. However, he had to wait six months for his first start for the club, with Appiah starting in the 3-0 defeat away to Sheffield Wednesday, playing 69 minutes before being replaced.
Appiah only managed one other start for the club, with the winger making just eight first-team appearances for the club up until the end of the 2018/19 season.
GK – Luke Steele
RB – Sam Byram
CB – Molla Wague
CB – Yohan Benalouane
LB – Jack Robinson
CM – Jack Colback
CM – Ryan Yates
CAM – Joe Lolley
RW – Matty Cash
LW – Arvin Appiah
ST – Lewis Grabban
In a shock move, the then 18-year-old departed the City Ground for £8m, joining Spanish second-tier side Almeria, just six months after signing a new four-and-a-half-year contract with the Reds. Fast-forward five years, and it was a move that was very smart business by the club.
Arvin Appiah's stats since leaving Nottingham Forest
Since his arrival in Spain, Appiah struggled to make a real impact and provide any sort of value for the hefty £8m price tag the club forked out on him.
During his first campaign with Almeria, he featured 21 times, scoring just once, with Appiah often utilised as an impact sub. His lack of game time subsequently led to a loan move to CD Lugo, where once more he was unable to find his feet, failing to score in any of his 13 league appearances and registering just one assist.
Despite his unsuccessful loan period at Lugo, Appiah returned to Almeria's first-team setup for the 2021/22 campaign, with the winger making 31 appearances – but once more failing to contribute with any sort of goal return, registering just three goal contributions all season.
His performances subsequently resulted in two more loan moves throughout the 2022/23 season to fellow Spanish sides CD Tenerife and Malaga, with Appiah evidently not up to the level required, with the Englishman making 21 appearances over the two spells, scoring just once.
After multiple unsuccessful spells in Spain, the now 23-year-old returned to England last summer on a loan deal joining Championship side Rotherham United for the current 2023/24 season.
Where Are They Now
Your star player or biggest flop has left the club but what are they doing in the present day? This article is part of Football FanCast's Where Are They Now series.
Turk Al-Sheikh, Almeria's owner, has already admitted defeat over Appiah's signing back in 2019, claiming that the move for the Forest man is a "blot on a list of successes" at the club, with the winger's transfer value now just £170k as per Football Transfers, a staggering decrease from what the club paid for him five years ago.
His loan move to Rotherham has also been a disaster, with the winger making 20 appearances in the Championship so far this season, failing to score a single goal, with Appiah only starting four times in the league.
Given his disastrous last five seasons, coupled with the fact his contract is set to expire in the summer, it is highly likely he will be a free agent in the summer with Appiah on the lookout for his sixth club in just over five seasons.
Appiah, who was once seen as a greater prospect than Brennan Johnson sitting in the year above him in the academy, has gone backwards with the Wales international excelling at Forest before his mega £47.5m move to Tottenham Hotspur last summer.
Overall, the Reds conducted brilliant business in offloading Appiah in 2019, with the winger's fee going a long way to cover the club's FFP spending – allowing the club to invest in all areas, with the club reaping the rewards five years on from his departure.
