Steve Cooper has reiterated that Nottingham Forest still “need to bring players in” ahead of the new Premier League season.
It has been a quiet summer in terms of incomings at the City Ground, certainly in comparison to the previous two transfer windows when the Reds brought in 30 new players.
Forest have made two new additions to their squad so far during the summer transfer window. Anthony Elanga arrived from Manchester United and Ola Aina joined on a free from Italian side Torino.
But Cooper wants his side to strengthen further before the summer window shuts on September 1. The Reds face Arsenal in a daunting Premier League opener at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, August 12.
And the Forest boss has admitted that it is hard to draw any conclusions from their pre-season before facing the Gunners next weekend.
“However good a pre-season has gone you always want more,” he told Forest
“We’ve done a bit of everything to be fair. I think there have been some bits where we’ve been below standard. I think there are bits where we look like we’re heading in the right direction, but you can never really tell until the season starts, so we’ve got to keep building.
“We want to bring players in and we need to bring players in, we know that. We talked at the end of last season when we managed to stay in the league about how we need to grow and keep building and obviously, that starts with the team and the squad.
“We’ve still got work to do in terms of strengthening the squad, and I’m really hopeful that can happen. I think it needs to happen and then we can start seeing when the league games start where we really are.”
Make no mistake – Nottingham Forest’s return to the Premier League was a roaring success.
Staying in the division was the aspiration and the primary goal, and it was mission successful.
There is no doubt that it was a turbulent first campaign back for Steve Cooper and his side, and now the emphasis will be on stability.
To mark another exciting season ahead Nottingham Forest, we have put together a bumper 48-page special for you to enjoy.
Packed with insight, analysis, and special features, it really is the perfect guide to the season ahead.
