West Ham United defender having an 'unbelievable' time as part of the joint-best defence in England

The 21-year-old centre-back has started seven games, five in League One, since joining on a season-long loan from West Ham United, and he was part of the back three that shut out Port Vale in Saturday’s goalless draw.

By the measure of clean sheets, no side in England’s top four tiers have kept more than Northampton in all competitions this season. Their total of six is the same as League One rivals Cardiff City and Huddersfield.

"I'm really enjoying it and it's days like Saturday, where you go away to Port Vale on a grim day and you battle to a point, which is not something you get in the academy at West Ham,” said Forbes.

"It's an unbelievable experience for me and I just want to keep playing more and more games for Northampton. I'm loving my time here and hopefully I can continue my form and we can keep winning games and keep racking up clean sheets.”

Forbes, who had a brief taste of first-team life in an injury-disrupted loan spell at Bristol Rovers last season, has risen through the youth ranks at West Ham, but he says nothing compares to playing for three points every week.

"The atmosphere is a big difference,” he added. “When you go away with the academy team, there's no fans and there's no real pressure and it's not a hostile environment. The other thing is that teams play the same way every week at youth level and you know everyone is going to play out from the back, but in League One you could play a direct team one week and then a possession team the next week.

"Those are things you have to deal with and you have to make adjustments as a young player. It's about winning your individual battles. Everything is in front of you in academy football but here you're running back to your own goal a lot and as a defender that's one of the hardest things to do. Experiences like that are invaluable to me and it will only really help me going forward in my career.”

Forbes will miss Saturday’s game against Rotherham after he was once again called up by Northern Ireland Under-21s.

"There are definitely pros and cons to that,” he admitted. “It's a brilliant thing to represent your country and it's something I really enjoy, but the other side of it is that I miss games.

"When you're in the team and keeping clean sheets, you want to continue. But not many people get the chance to represent their country so you have to take the positives and I’ll do my best and then when I’m back with Northampton, I’ll do everything I can to get back in the team.”

West Ham, Forbes’ parent club, have endued a difficult start to their Premier League campaign and sacked manager Graham Potter last month, but Forbes is only focused on doing well for his current club.

"West Ham know when a player is ready and needs first-team minutes and thankfully I've settled in well and hopefully I can just keep getting better,” he added. “That's the main thing for me.

"I love being here and I love doing it with this group of players. I know back there have been some changes back at West Ham but when I'm here, I have to put all my focus on Northampton and doing my best for this club. I hope they can pick up because I have a lot of friends there but, right now, while I'm here, the main thing is to focus on Northampton.”