“He’s my football father” – Defender heaps praise on Cooper’s role at Nottingham Forest, ‘an excellent teacher’

It’s easy to forget that Djed Spence, already on his third loan spell since leaving Middlesbrough, had a great year at Nottingham Forest.

His time with the Tricky Trees is when everyone really noticed the right-back under Steve Cooper, who has since been replaced by Nuno Espírito Santo at City Ground.

The manager is the one who brought Nottingham Forest back to the Premier League, which he will always be remembered for, and Spence, interviewed by Gazzetta dello Sport, revealed how important the 44-year-old was to him.

He said: “Cooper was truly an excellent teacher, also on a human level, and he represents one of the keys to my excellent season. He’s my football father.”

During his time with Nottingham Forest on loan from Middlesbrough, Spence made 46 appearances in all competitions, scored three goals and assisted another five.

He has never repeated such feats at a club before or after, scoring just two, for example, in 70 games for the Riverside residents.

Following his great year with Nottingham Forest, he was sold to Spurs for just under €15m, where he has only been able to make six appearances to date, failing to convince all the managers he has worked under to date.