Football Insider has learned that Nottingham Forest defender Aaron Donnelly is set to join Colchester on loan.
The League Two team has agreed to sign the 21-year-old after beating his former loan club Dundee in the race.
Donnelly played last season on loan at Dundee, making 21 appearances in the Scottish Premiership.
The centre-back is far down the pecking order at Forest, and they are eager to loan him out in quest of regular first-team action.
Donnelly joined Forest from Northern Irish team Dungannon Swifts in 2019, before signing his first professional contract with the club in 2021.
That contract is slated to expire at the end of the season, therefore the defender will have the opportunity to impress in League Two this season.
Nottingham Forest’s youngster likely to join Colchester
The move comes after Donnelly made his senior debut for Northern Ireland in a June friendly against Andorra.
He previously went on loan to Port Vale in League One during the second part of the 2022-23 season, making 20 consecutive third-tier starts as they avoided relegation.
Donnelly has only made one senior appearance for Forest and is currently playing for their Under-21s.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s team is well-stocked in defence, with Serbian international Nikola Milenkovic joining the squad.
Colchester has won one of its first three League Two games after ending three points above the relegation zone last season.
