Nottingham Forest will be hoping to take a major step towards retaining their Championship status for the 2021/22 campaign tomorrow when they host Huddersfield Town at the City Ground.

Currently 10 points clear of the relegation zone in the second-tier, the Reds could potentially move up to 14th in the standings if they better Bristol City's result this weekend.

Although manager Chris Hughton's primary focus between now and the end of the season will be to guide his side to safety, he has taken some time this week to praise one of the club's prospects who is set to make his return to the club this summer.

Since being loaned out by Forest to Lincoln City last year, Brennan Johnson has managed to set League One alight with his displays as he has provided 21 direct goal contributions in 35 appearances.

Particularly impressive during the Imps' 4-0 victory over Milton Keynes Dons earlier this week, the teenager's 11-minute hat-trick caught the attention of Hughton.

Making reference to Johnson, the Forest boss lauded the attacking midfielder for his recent performances and commended Lincoln for aiding his development.

Speaking to BBC Radio Nottingham about the 19-year-old's performances for the Imps, Hughton said: "It's great news for the club.

"We managed to have him here a couple of weeks ago for a couple of days and he was able to train with us so it was good to actually see him at close hand.

"He's doing very well and I think that's what you can only ask of players that are going out on loan.

"Credit to Lincoln City, they are the team and the manager is consistently playing him.

"Sometimes players go out on loan and just don't get the amount of time that they would like but certainly he's had enough games to develop and for us to see his progress.

"So I'm really pleased."

GIVEMESPORT's Joshua Cole says...

Having been limited to just eight appearances in all competitions last season, it was hardly a surprise when former Forest boss Sabri Lamouchi opted to loan him out to Lincoln.

However, given that the Wales international had only managed to show glimpses of his talent, the jury was out on whether he would be able to thrive in League One.

Yet in what has turned out to be a breakthrough campaign for Johnson, he has managed to reach double figures in terms of goals and assists and is currently averaging an impressive WhoScored match rating of 6.96.

When you consider that Forest have only managed to find the back of the net on 34 occasions in 41 league games this season, Johnson's return may go some way to solving the club's lack of creativity providing that he is able to hit the ground running in the Championship.