Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper admits “a lot more” signings are still needed as he puts together a squad ready for the Premier League.
Taiwo Awoniyi, Dean Henderson, Giulian Biancone and Moussa Niakhate have been added to the Reds’ ranks so far. And Neco Williams and Omar Richards are believed to be close to joining.
With Forest having lost loanees Djed Spence, James Garner, Philip Zinckernagel, Keinan Davis and Max Lowe at the end of last season, Cooper says significant changes were always inevitable. However, he is keen to ensure the team spirit which was such a key part of promotion success remains.
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Asked whether much more transfer business is likely, he told NottinghamshireLive after the 3-1 opening friendly defeat to Coventry City: “We have to. We’ve got to get the balance right between building on last year - the way we played, the togetherness, the spirit, the identity - but everyone knows the five loans have gone back and we want to improve the squad.
“We’ve had a decent start, in terms of bringing players in. But it’s only a start. We need to bring a lot more in, for sure.
“Changes were always going to happen. Whatever happened at the end of the season, the five loans were going to go back and there was no guarantee that we were going to get any of them back. So changes are not a surprise.
“It’s a challenge, of course. But it’s always a challenge, putting a squad together for a season, whatever league you play in - and obviously ours is a bit bigger challenge now, because we’re playing in the Premier League.
“But we’re excited about it. We’ve started bringing players in, adding to the group already here who have been the main focus and the core. We have to keep that process going while every day improving, improving, improving.”
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