Ryan Yates reveals what Nottingham Forest’s signing of Braian Ojeda shows | OneFootball

Nottingham Forest midfielder Ryan Yates believes the summer signing of Braian Ojeda shows the ambition of the club in bringing in a young, hungry player, speaking about the 21-year-old to Nottinghamshire Live.

The Paraguayan arrived at the City Ground on transfer deadline day in the summer, joining on a four-year contract from South America as one of several late-August signings by the East Midlands side in a quest to change their league fortunes.

Unfortunately, Ojeda wasn’t ready in time to play under former boss Chris Hughton after taking time to become accustomed to life in England – and new manager Steve Cooper remains unwilling to rush him despite many Forest fans’ desperation to see him in action.

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However, the midfielder, who is already capped at an international level for Paraguay, did play for the second-tier side’s Under-23s team at the start of the month and appeared on the bench for Cooper’s men at the weekend in their 4-0 loss to Fulham.

With this, the 21-year-old could be in line for his Forest debut in the near future and according to his teammate Yates, he is already making an impression at the second-tier side.

Going on to detail how his arrival aligns with the second-tier outfit’s future aims, the latter said: “You can just tell straight away from the first session, he’s very intense, and he wants to learn – you can’t really ask for more than that.

“He’s still quite young. It will take him time to adapt.

“It just shows the ambition of the club, going out and buying a young, hungry player who is desperate for the shirt. It only bodes well for what the club is trying to do.

“There’s always been competition in centre mid at Forest for as long as I’ve been here. It’s only going to improve the team, make training better and improve us as individuals.”

The Verdict:

Ojeda is something of an unknown quantity in England, so it remains to be seen how well he adapts to life in the East Midlands and whether he can fulfil his true potential.

At 21, there’s still a lot of time and room for him to improve, so Forest fans should remain patient with him even if things don’t click at first. Considering his age and the fact this is his first spell in England, many people wouldn’t blame him if he endures a slow start to his career with the Championship club.

However, the late flurry of signings in general from Cooper’s men in the summer was a statement of intent, being able to attract the likes of Max Lowe and Djed Spence to the club, with both loanees becoming a key part of their side now.

If the young midfielder can have a similar impact and provide great competition to the likes of Yates and Jack Colback in the middle of the park, this can only help a potential charge for the top six.

This could make him a key asset for Forest even if he doesn’t play every game – but nonetheless – it would be fascinating to see him in action because he could become a shrewd addition.