Adam Forshaw's League One Player of the Year prize at the Football League awards on Sunday was a great end to a fantastic week for the club.

After getting planning permission for a new ground at Lionel Road rubber-stamped and Saturday's win against promotion rivals Leyton Orient, it was the icing on the cake.

It also reinforced Brentford's use of the loan market, which gave Forshaw his first proper experience of competitive men's football.

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The midfielder made just one substitute appearance for Everton before being sent on loan to the Bees in 2012, where he went on to make seven appearances before his spell in TW8 was cut short by a broken jaw.

However, the Liverpool-born lad had got the taste for it and rejected a new deal with the Premier League Toffees for the chance of regular first-team football, albeit in League One.

The gamble has paid dividends for the 22-year-old, who has gone from strength to strength and has been a driving force in Brentford's automatic promotion push this campaign.

Chipping in: Forshaw has contributed seven goals this campaign

Harlee Dean and Jake Bidwell are other example of youngsters who have signed for the Bees on a permanent basis following successful loan spells in west London, and it would come as no surprise if current loanees George Saville and Marcello Trotta followed their paths in the summer.

Brentford's use of the loan system has been criticised, with Southampton's head of football development Les Reed having a pop during a recent episode of Sky TV's Footballers' Football Show , in which Bees boss Mark Warburton was also a studio guest.

Now you can't deny the Saints' success in nurturing young talent in the past decade, with Gareth Bale, Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Adam Lallana and Luke Shaw having come through the ranks.

Critic: Southampton's head of football development Les Reed is not a fan of the loan system

However, Reed claimed he wasn't a fan of the loan system and insisted the best place for the club's youngsters to develop was in-house.

Yet a week later and 20-year-old defender Jack Stephens, who is contracted until 2017, was allowed to join Swindon Town.

A lot is made of Southampton's flourishing academy, but what happens to the players who never grace the first team? At least if they've been out on loan it's an opportunity to put themselves in the shop window and gain valuable experience elsewhere.

Brentford FC unveils Mark Warburton as its new manager
Giving youth a chance: Brentford manager Mark Warburton

I think Brentford have got it spot on with a series of young and hungry loanees who have been educated at the highest level, mixed with a talented crop of their own.

Warburton has handed chances to several of the club's promising young guns, but he has made it clear they have to be up to scratch.

If they aren't ready, they will be sent on loan to develop and improve, and hopefully return to Griffin Park ready to fight for a place in the first-team squad, like Charlie Adams has done recently.

The future certainly looks bright for Brentford - on and off the pitch - whatever Reed reckons.