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Nottingham Forest have no plans to cash in on any of their talented youngsters to boost their summer transfer kitty, says Aitor Karanka.

The Reds rejected an offer worth £12m from Burnley for Joe Worrall in January, while fellow first team players Ben Osborn, Ben Brereton and Matty Cash have all attracted interest from the top flight in the recent past.

And Premier League clubs, including Liverpool and Manchester United, are now understood to be monitoring academy products Matty Bondswell and Alex Mighten.

But Karanka says Forest do not have any intention of bolstering their transfer funds by cashing in on one of their bright young talents – and will resist any overtures to prise them away from the City Ground this summer.

(Image: Dan Westwell)

The message the Reds want to send to the next generation coming through the ranks is that there is a path to the first team for them - not that they will be sold off to the highest bidder.

“I think the mentality of the club is to try to keep our players here,” said Karanka. “They are important for the club, for the crowd, for the players who are coming through the academy.

“They need to see that they can one day be in the same position.”

If Forest received an acceptable offer for one of their players – and the player themselves wanted to leave, Karanka says the club would have a conversation about the situation.

But he reiterated that any deal would only happen if it was the right move for the club.

“It is football. When players came to my office at Middlesbrough, telling me that they wanted to play in the Premier League - it had to be a deal that is good for everyone,” said Karanka.

(Image: Joseph Raynor)

“And here, we would not sell players to an opponent or a rival in the Championship.

“If a player comes to me having had a good offer from the Premier League, I don’t know if I could tell them that we will keep them (no matter what). I was a player myself; I was one of them and I would like to respect them.

“But today our thought is to keep all of our young players, because they are good players and they have shown that they can play.

“Players like Brereton, Osborn, Worrall, Cash – they have all been involved and have done well.”

Mighten, a forward, and full-back Bondswell are the latest to attract admiring glances from the top flight.

But Karanka hopes the knowledge that they are at a club where they will get a first team opportunity when they are ready, will ensure they remain settled at the City Ground.

“It is a positive that other clubs are taking notice," said Karanka.

(Image: Dan Westwell)

“Once again, the reflection is on the first team squad. When you have players like Brereton, like Osborn, like Worrall and Cashy, the players in the academy can see this.

“If we can keep them, they will know that they can play in the first team; they know that they will get a chance.

“In Middlesbrough, if you saw the play-off game against Villa, Dael Fry was playing for them. He had his first game for Boro when he was 17-years-old and, for me, that was a real pleasure.

“It is true that it is important to have experience and age in your side, in the Championship. But you need a mix of young and old in your side as well. If you have that, it is even better.

“If you have good young players coming through your academy, that is best of all.”