Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper has urged the club’s hierarchy to sign more players this summer with two weeks left in the transfer window.
Forest made a record 21 signings last summer after promotion to the Premier League, which helped them retain their top-flight status.
However, they have taken a more conservative approach to incoming transfers this summer, with Cooper welcoming just three new faces into the fold – Ola Aina, Anthony Elanga and Matt Turner.
Forest have also activated the £15 million buy option to sign Chris Wood permanently, having joined on an initial loan deal in January.
There have been several exits, with Jack Colback, Sam Surridge, Andre Ayew, Cafu, Steve Cook, Jesse Lingard and others leaving City Ground this summer.
Keylor Navas, Dean Henderson and Renan Lodi have also left after their loan spells ended.
Forest still have 35 first-team players, leaving Cooper with a bloated squad to manage.
Trimming the squad will be crucial to bolster cohesion, but the Welshman would welcome more signings before the transfer window closes on September 1.
“There’s nothing imminent – I have to trust the club to crack on with the work,” Cooper told the BBC.
“If we’re able to add then great, but if not then we’ll carry on, but in my opinion we do need to add.
“We all want to do better this year. It’s going to be hard, but to do that, we’ve got to make sure we’ve got a strong team and a strong squad, so hopefully the club can do that.”
Forest barely escaped relegation last season after finishing in 16th place, just four points above the drop zone.
They haven’t started the 2023/24 campaign as they would have liked after falling to a 2-1 defeat to last season’s runners-up Arsenal.
However, next weekend’s showdown against newly promoted Sheffield United offers Cooper and his side a chance to pick up valuable points on home soil.
