League One club Wycombe Wanderers are reportedly signing a new striker on transfer deadline day in the shape of soon-to-be new Nottingham Forest man Donnell McNeilly.
The 19-year-old flourished in Chelsea’s academy teams but left this summer after rejecting a new contract.
However, Forest have agreed to sign the forward before immediately sending him out on loan to the League One side, as reported by Fabrizio Romano.
Premier League youngster joins Wycombe Wanderers on loan
McNeilly impressed in Chelsea’s youth setup and signed his first professional contract aged just 17 in November 2022.
Despite never making the step up to the top-flight side’s first team, the London-born teenager featured regularly for the U18 and U21 sides and played in the EFL Trophy against senior EFL teams.
With a move to Forest set to be confirmed shortly, the Premier League side have already lined up a loan deal with Wycombe to give McNeilly his first taste of first-team football.
The Chairboys have struggled at the start of the 2025/26 League One season and have picked up just two points in six games, as well as scoring only five goals.
Head coach Mike Dodds joined the club in January following Matt Bloomfield’s move to Luton Town, at which point they were second in the table.
However, they slipped down under his leadership and were defeated by Charlton Athletic in the play-off semi-finals.
Dodds’ forward options are quite limited, with just summer signing Bradley Fink, Daniel Udoh and teenager Jaiden Bertolo to call upon.
This follows the record sale of Richard Kone, who sealed a move to Championship side Queens Park Rangers after scoring 18 goals and winning the division’s Player and Young Player of the Season awards.
Will McNeilly be able to adapt to senior team football?
The big question over McNeilly’s arrival at Adams Park will be his lack of previous first-team experience.
Having not been given a chance at Chelsea or being loaned out, he will need to adapt to the fitness and physicality levels of League One.
However, despite Wycombe fans’ worries that a young, unproven striker may not be what they need given their poor start, McNeilly is clearly a talented player, given Forest’s deal to sign him.
With Dodds as his head coach, he will also be learning under someone who has an excellent record in academy football, having coached the likes of Jude Bellingham, Demarai Gray and Nathan Redmond in the Birmingham City academy.
The arrival of McNeilly may not be the Chairboys’ only deadline day signing as they are also looking to sign Sunderland defender Niall Huggins on loan.
They have also placed a bid for midfielder Aaron Morley, who spent time on loan at Adams Park last season, but have had the offer rejected by Bolton Wanderers.
