Highly-regarded product of the West Ham Academy (originally as a left back) who caught the eye as the driving force in Yeovil Town's midfield during 2006. Forest were strongly rumoured to be close to signing him during the January 2007 transfer window, but in the end had to wait until July, signing him as part of a double deal with Arron Davies. (Nominally it was Davies who commanded the lion's share of the fee, but there is more than a suspicion that this had more to do with Yeovil avoiding sell-on fees to West Ham than a genuine gauge of their respective degrees of talent).

Though Cohen missed the start of the season as he recovered from a close season hernia operation, once he started he never stopped running; he was Forest's "engine" for game after game as the team gradually gelled - not least as they put together 6 wins and a draw in their final 7 games to snatch automatic promotion on a dramatic final day. He needs to score more goals, and his final ball can sometimes need work, but his talent was confirmed by the fact that he fully deserved his Player of the Year award in Forest's first year back in the Champsionship - indeed, it is no exaggeration to say that only Cohen and Wes Morgan consistently played well during Forest's less-than-comfortable return to the 2nd Division.

2009-2010 has seen more of the same, though Forest's lack of a fit Championship quality left back means that he has played much of the season in defence (where he has played extremely well). Nicky Shorey's arrival meant a reversion to midfield, and his energy and passing ability remain encouraging. His biggest fault at present is his tendency to pick up bookings; an average of a yellow card every third game is way too high. All the same, he is still only 22 and still looks to have real ability. My personal opinion is that he has the ability to play in the Premiership - he reminds me of the sort of player David Prutton could have become, but never did. Arron Davies has sunk without trace, but Cohen looks worth every penny of his fee on his own.