According to the BBC, Arvin Appiah has signed a four-and-a-half year contract with Nottingham Forest. 

The 18-year-old is one of The Reds' most promising players, but had been attracting interest from a number of Bundesliga clubs, given the spate of young players from England moving to Germany.

The England under-18 international has made two first-team appearances so far this season, bagging a goal on his debut in the League Cup, but has attracted a lot of attention. The pacey striker is seen as one to take Nottingham Forest forward in the future.

This is obviously a great deal, as any club will want to keep hold of a player. This is not only due to what they can provide on the pitch in the future, but their value will only increase in a number of years when they have fully emerged on the scene. Forest would have risked hugely underselling a player that they could get a lot more for in a few years.

Most importantly, however, is what this deal signifies. Forest have already seen 19-year-old Ben Brereton leave the City Ground this season, and 21-year-old midfielder Ryan Yates has also been rumoured to be leaving. There was a sense that Forest were failing to plan for the future adequately, but this deal for Appiah suggests otherwise.

Whether Appiah will feature more for The Reds this season under new manager Martin O'Neill is yet to be seen. But there is no doubt that he will get more game time in future seasons thanks to this deal.