Creative attacking midfielder Jorge Grant says he ‘can’t wait’ to be playing alongside ‘best friend’ Tyler Walker, adding that the pair linked up well in their first training session as Mansfield Town players.
We revealed earlier today that the 24-year-old has joined Mansfield from Nottingham Forest on loan until the end of the season.
Grant says that the move came after speaking to manager David Flitcroft ‘a lot’ over the past seven days, and looks forward to reuniting Walker, who is also with the amber and blue on loan from the Reds.
“I spoke to the manager a lot over the past week and I think I can fit in really well here,” explained Grant.
“It’s exciting. I’m really happy to be here and I can’t wait to get started. Promotion is the main target, because I’m here as a Mansfield player.
“It [season with Luton Town] started off really well, I scored a few goals and was starting most weeks. I got a niggle in my groin and had some time out, and the lad that came in [for me] did really well.
“One of the things that the gaffer said to me was ‘come and get a promotion on your CV.’ Tyler [Walker] is here as well, who I know really well.
“[Walker played a] massive [part] to be fair. We spend a lot of time together off the pitch. I’ve known him since he was 16 or 17, so he’s one of my best friends in football. I can’t wait to be playing with him.
“We’ve grown up learning the way of football from Forest. He’s a striker, I’m a number ten, so we always played off each other and linked up really well.
“It happened in training a few times as well so hopefully we can bring that into the game tomorrow.”
"[Walker played a] massive [part] to be fair. We spend a lot of time together off the pitch. I’ve known him since he was 16 or 17, so he’s one of my best friends in football. I can’t wait to be playing with him."
The midfielder, who trained with the Stags for the first time today, says that the Mansfield players look ‘sharp’ heading into tomorrow night’s Sky Bet League Two clash at home to Crawley Town.
Grant, along with new striker Nicky Ajose, is eligible to feature in the match.
“You have to come in and do your part for the team,” he added. “When you have the positivity that I saw today in training, even though the lads lost at the weekend, everyone was out there enjoying themselves.
“Training wasn’t too heavy today as we have the game tomorrow. There were lots of little technical things and the lads looked really sharp to be honest.
“I like to get in the pockets between the midfield and the defence. I like to play through balls, put in crosses and get goals and assists.
“I like to take free-kicks and corners too, so hopefully I can bring that all to the table.
“I want to say a big thank you to the chairman, the gaffer, the coaching staff and the players for welcoming me here today. Hopefully we can enjoy the next few months together.”
iFollow Stags subscribers can watch Jorge Grant’s interview in full by logging into mansfieldtown.net/ifollow later today.
