Free agent former Sheffield Wednesday and Tottenham Hotspur midfielder in eyebrow-raising trial with Premier League club

Midfielder John Bostock will turn 31 in the new year and has been out of contract since he turned down a deal to stay on at Doncaster Rovers in the summer.

He spent a short stint with Wednesday on loan from Tottenham Hotspur back in 2012 and was the subject of cursory initial interest from Darren Moore’s Owls while the club were operating under the terms of stringent transfer restrictions last summer.

But now as per reports in the East Midlands, he is on trial with Premier League new boys Nottingham Forest and started as Forest’s youngsters were beaten 1-0 in a friendly against Serie B outfit Palermo at Manchester City's Academy Stadium on Friday.

Nottingham Forest’s official website made no mention of Bostock but listed a ‘Trialist’ in their starting XI.

Steve Cooper’s side launched a much-talked about assault on the transfer market that has seen 22 new players join the club that was promoted from the Championship last time out. It was a flurry of activity that saw Alex Mighten pushed out on loan to Wednesday.

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The progression of the move could follow a trend started in the elite tier in bringing senior pros back to play second-string football with up-and-coming junior players, acting as a mentor. The Likes of Jay Spearing and Tom Huddlestone carry out similar roles at Liverpool and Manchester United respectively.

Bostock is well-known at Forest having played there on loan in the 2019/20 season.