Nottingham Forest
Left for £0: Nottingham endured bigger blunder than Bamford on £21m PL winner
In recent decades, Nottingham Forest have gained a reputation for developing talented youngsters, making an impact at the club before going on to achieve great things in professional football.
Ryan Yates, the Reds’ current vice-captain, came through the Nigel Doughty Academy before forcing his way into the first team after multiple successful loan spells in the Football League.
Matty Cash and Michael Dawson are just two examples of players who have come through the club’s academy before leaving the club for a decent fee – with Cash notably joining Aston Villa on a £16m deal.
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 – the 31-year-old scoring 57 goals in 177 games for Leeds United.
However, despite Bamford’s departure to Chelsea, the club made a bigger mistake by letting another youngster leave the club on a free over 20 years ago.
Shaun Wright-Phillips’ time at Nottingham Forest
Shaun Wright-Phillips was on the books of Forest as a youngster, however, the club released him before he joined Manchester City at the age of 18.
When speaking at the premiere for Barclays Football’s Black History Month, the winger spoke about his time in Nottingham, saying: They said they were happy and on the way back, they just turned around after saying they were going to give me the contract, on the train down, they turned around and said, ‘sorry we have kind of changed our mind, you’re basically too small and not good enough’.”
The club were never to know how the career of Wright-Phillips would pan out, but if the career of his dad, Ian Wright, was anything to go by, he would’ve been a brilliant signing for the club and a huge asset for years to come.
Wright-Phillips’ career after leaving Nottingham Forest
His move to Manchester City turned out to be a very successful one, with the winger going on to make 274 appearances for the club, scoring 48 times and assisting 23 times for his teammates.
Wright-Phillips’ form in the North West saw him win the club’s Young Player of the Season award four seasons in a row – earning him a call-up to the England national side at the age of 23.
The stint in Manchester caught the attention of fellow Premier League side Chelsea, with the London club forking out £21m for Wright-Phillips during the summer of 2005.
The former Forest youngster made 125 appearances for the Blues over a three period, with the winger only managing to score ten goals before returning to the City of Manchester Stadium for £10m after the club’s financial backing – albeit with a league title in tow.
Wright-Phillips only lasted another three years in Manchester, before a spell at fellow Premier League side Queens Park Rangers at the age of 29. His move allowed him to play another 50+ times in the top flight before moving to the MLS, bringing his career in England to an end.
Overall, Wright-Phillips enjoyed a brilliant career in England’s top flight, with Forest letting go of a superb talent for nothing that would’ve seen the club secure a huge payday.
