Scottish defender Scott McKenna was, not so long ago, a rising star for club and country. The former Aberdeen man was linked with both Celtic (he grew up a Hoops supporter) and Rangers before signing with Nottingham Forest in 2020.
The Full Scottish
McKenna has made 94 appearances for the “Tricky Trees” (we just love that nickname) since and been capped 33 times for Scotland over the course of his career, after making his competitive debut in 2018.
Now, though, reports suggest the Kirriemuir man has been banished from training at Forest—along with club captain Joe Worrall—and told he can leave during the January transfer window.
It’s not a disciplinary matter, apparently. But Forest are sitting 16th in the EPL table, at the time of writing, and have lost four matches in a row.
Changes
Changes are clearly needed—and current Forest manager Steve Cooper believes McKenna needs to be among them. The player is still only 27, but it seems to be a shocking fall from grace.
McKenna will be desperate to get back to playing regularly, what with the Euros approaching this summer. It will be interesting to see where his club career takes him.
For now, though, he finds himself—apparently—in a similar place to Celtic’s James McCarthy, a fellow Hoops supporter who, at 33, hasn’t been seen around the team since the summer, after being absent for much of the second half of last season.
Notably, McCarthy also wasn’t included in the annual squad photo for the 2023-24 campaign. McKenna has years and health on his side—but finding himself in the same category as McCarthy can’t be a good development.