Neil Warnock makes admission over transfer involving Middlesbrough and Nottingham Forest | OneFootball

Middlesbrough boss Neil Warnock has admitted to Teesside Live that Djed Spence’s loan move to Nottingham Forest is vital for the player moving forwards.

The promising 21-year-old defender completed a slightly surprising deadline day loan move to link up with Forest this season and will no doubt be looking to prove to Warnock that he is worthy of a regular place in the Boro starting eleven in years to come.

Spence did however feature regularly for the North East side last term, which suggests that this move has been made on the basis that the Middlesbrough boss cannot promise him the game time that he craves if he had chosen to remain at the Riverside Stadium.

Speaking recently about Spence’s transfer to the City Ground, Warnock had this to say:

“I think it’s vital for himself.

“There’s no doubt about his ability or fitness. As an athlete, he’s as good as anyone I’ve seen. He has a few decisions to make. I think it’s better he goes away and has a look at another club and makes his own mind up, does he want to get to the top or what, or is he going to waste his career.

“I think that’s why I let him go, to get games. The way we were going I don’t think I’d have been using him.”

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Spence still has two years left to run on his current contract with Boro and will still be hopeful that he will have a future with the club that has given him so much since his move from Fulham.

The right back made his Forest debut at the weekend as they lost 2-1 at home to Cardiff City but will be ineligible for tonight’s game against his parent club.

The Verdict

It was certainly strange to see Spence being loaned out to one of Boro’s divisional rivals and it will be interesting to see if they come to regret their decision.

There will still be a feeling that he still has a lot to offer but of course, with the defender being so young, there are definite areas for improvement.

He will be playing week in, week out at Forest but it is as yet unclear as to whether he will adapt well to their style of play or not.

If he can continue to improve however, it is clear that Warnock still sees some sort of future for him at the Riverside Stadium moving forwards, which can only be a plus from Spence’s point of view.