Blackpool coach makes admission after younger's Nottingham Forest move following past Liverpool links
Gabriel Schluter has recently departed Blackpool for Nottingham Forest.
Blackpool interim coach Stephen Dobbie has wished youngster Gabriel Schluter the best for the future following his departure.
The teenager joined Nottingham Forest’s academy earlier this week after previously being part of the Fylde Coast outfit’s youth system, but didn’t feature for the Reds’ U21s side in their EFL Trophy group game against the Seasiders at Bloomfield Road on Tuesday night.
Schluter caught the eye last season for his performances at U18 level for Blackpool, while last November, the 16-year-old was handed his senior debut in Tangerine, after being introduced off the bench in a cup tie against Liverpool U21s.
Even around that time there was reported interest from elsewhere, with both Fulham and Stockport County linked, while he was also rumoured to be close to making a move to the Red side of Merseyside back in the summer.
Discussing Schluter’s departure, Dobbie said: “He made his debut last year in this comp (the EFL Trophy), and from what I remember he pulled the ball out of the air and it was about 40 yards up. The kid has great talent.
“He’s obviously wanted to move on. I don’t know what’s happened behind-the-scenes package-wise, but good luck to him because he’s a nice lad.
“You always want to keep hold of your better players, but you know there’s always teams sniffing around.”
The Forest verdict
Forest’s recruitment were left impressed by what they’ve seen from Schluter in the past.
Discussing Schluter’s arrival at the City Ground, the Nottinghamshire outfit’s head of academy Chris McGuane told the Premier League outfit’s in-house media: “We are delighted to welcome Gabriel to Nottingham Forest and wish him well on this exciting opportunity for him.
“Gabriel is an exciting attacking player with many attributes to create and score goals. The credit goes to Dan Kelly and our recruitment team who identified Gabriel and tracked him for some time.
“Under the expert guidance of Tom Mallinson and our wider multi disciplinary team, we look forward to helping Gabriel settle into his new life here in Nottingham with our U18 squad at this exciting time within the academy.”
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