Very familiar to Reds boss Alex McLeish from their time together with Birmingham City and the Scotland national team, McFadden's career has been blighted by injury problems in recent seasons.
He signed for Sunderland earlier in the 2012/13 campaign but is thought to be available for a loan switch in order to get first team games.
McLeish is still waiting on a deadline deal for Birmingham winger Chris Burke with the two sides set to meet at the weekend.
Check out the head-to-head record of the Reds versus the Blues by clicking below.
http://www.nottinghamforest-mad.co.uk/head_to_head/next/vs/match/index.shtml