Rangers-linked player returns to squad

Rangers-linked Scott McKenna was called up to the Nottingham Forest squad for the FA Cup tie against League One Blackpool.

The Premier League side battled back from two goals down to earn a 2-2 draw at the City Ground, forcing a replay at Bloomfield Road.

Jordan Lawrence-Gabriel had given Blackpool the lead in the 25th minute before Albie Morgan had the Seasiders in dreamland two minutes later.

Nicolas Dominguez pulled one back for Forest six minutes before halftime, before Morgan Gibbs-White equalised ten minutes later.

Scott McKenna is back in the Nottingham Forest squad.
Rangers-linked Scott McKenna, who has also been linked with Trabzonspor in Turkey, was an unused substitute in the game but returned to the Nottingham Forest squad for the first time since September.

With former Ibrox loanee Joe Worrall playing the full 90 minutes, both players have now been reintroduced to the Nottingham Forest squad after being banished earlier in the season.

Worrall and McKenna were both forced to train away from the first team in early December by former Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper.

But now, under new manager Nuno Espírito Santo, Scott McKenna is out of the picture, having not played since a 1-1 draw with Burnley in September.

This despite McKenna, 27, starting the club’s first five Premier League games of the season.

Rangers have been linked with a Premier League defender.

While McKenna did not come off the bench against Blackpool, his inclusion in the matchday squad will be a huge boost for the former Aberdeen star.

Despite the fact that he is out of contract at the end of the season, there may be signs of life in the centre-back’s Forest career as Rangers reportedly consider a move.

Rangers fans will be watching the story closely in the coming weeks as Old Firm rivals Celtic are also said to have pulled out of the running.

Nuno Espirito Santo, the new manager of Nottingham Forest, admitted before the game that “no final decisions” had been made on any of the Forest squad members.

Even though the Portuguese manager admitted the club is looking to “reduce” their bloated 33-man squad during the transfer window.

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