Bolton Wanderers will have expected more after sanctioning Nottingham Forest deal | OneFootball

Bolton sold Zach Clough to Forest for seven-figure fee and will have expected to see the 21-year-old kick on for the Reds but it never worked out.

The surname Clough is synonymous with success at Nottingham Forest. Both Brian and Nigel firmly earned their places as club legends, following their stints at the City Ground.

However, there is one player who shared the same surname as the legendary duo who didn't continue the success story. Zach Clough, who isn't related to Nigel nor Brian, joined the former European champions from Bolton Wanderers in 2017.

The young attacking midfielder has been seriously impressive for the Trotters, which had him on the radar for a transfer. Coincidentally, the club where the Clough surname was steeped in so much history snapped up the youngster for a seven-figure fee. This would prove to be a total disaster though.

Bolton brilliance put Clough on the map

The Denton-born man joined up with the Bolton academy in 2003, at the age of eight. He spent ten years progressing through the different age groups, before finally going pro in 2013.

Despite this, he wouldn't make his debut until just under two years later. On his senior debut, Clough endeared himself to the Bolton faithful, scoring the winner against bitter rivals, Wigan Athletic, in the FA Cup third round. This earned the then 19-year-old a contract extension until 2017.

He made his break into the first team in the second half of the 2014-15 season, scoring five goals in eight matches. Over the next two seasons, the academy product continued to develop into a first team regular, scoring a combined 16 league goals over 51 league appearances.

This fine form didn't go unnoticed, and being just the young age of 21, Clough had plenty of suitors from higher up the EFL. On January 30th 2017, it was announced that the exciting midfielder had joined Nottingham Forest on a four-and-a-half year deal, for a reported fee of £3m.

Sadly, this move proved to be a total disaster, as Clough failed to live up to the hype.

Trotters left underwhelmed after Forest failure

Now with a big price tag on his head, there were equally big expectations for the Bolton import to perform. Despite not being related to Nigel or Brian, this was a chance for him to write the next chapter in the Clough surname's success story.

Unfortunately, this wouldn't be the case. Despite starting life at the City Ground fairly well, Clough went on to fail to register a single goal for the club in the 2017-18 season, which would be the final season he'd appear in a Forest shirt.

In January 2018, the former Trotter returned to Lancashire on loan for the rest of the season, having struggled for minutes with Forest. After this stint, Clough still found himself exiled from the first team, which saw him loaned out again to Rochdale.

He finally departed the Reds in 2021, after mutually terminating his contract. The hotshot attacking midfielder spent five seasons with Nottingham Forest, but made just 27 league appearances. He also went three consecutive seasons without a single appearance for the club.

When quizzed about the reasoning for this, Clough cited it as being financially driven. He told NottinghamshireLive: “It was nothing to do with football, it was probably more finances.”

Regardless of the reasoning behind his failed Forest fiasco, Bolton would look back in disappointment, as a once highly-rated youngster's career failed to take off.