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Nottingham Forest are in talks to sign Luke Steele, as Aitor Karanka looks to ensure he has quality back-up to Costel Pantilimon.

The 33-year-old is a free agent after leaving Bristol City at the end of last season and would arrive as cover and competition for the Romanian international.

It is a position where Forest are already well stocked, with the club having been working to find new clubs for Stephen Henderson and Dimi Evtimov already this summer.

Stefanos Kapino is also now likely to be made available, with Jordan Smith having been favoured as back-up to Pantilimon in recent pre-season games.

The 24-year-old Greek international, Kapino, has struggled to make an impact at Forest, since signing from Olympiacos in January, making only four Championship appearances.

And the arrival of Steele, who replaced Kapino when he left Panathinaikos to move to Mainz in 2014, would only move him further down the pecking order.

Smith is still regarded as a promising prospect at the City Ground but, if a deal is agreed with Steele – and there is understood to be some work still to be done before that happens – it could allow Smith to go out on loan to gain valuable experience.

Well-travelled Steele began his career at Peterborough United, before a move to Manchester United in 2002. He did not play a game for the Red Devils, spending time on loan at Coventry, before moving to West Brom permanently in 2006.

Another loan spell at Coventry was followed by a loan move to Barnsley, which led to a permanent move to Oakwell in 2008.

He made 210 appearances for Barnsley, before activating a clause that allowed him to leave on a free transfer should the club be relegated to League One, which they were in the summer of 2014.

He was first-choice keeper for Panathinaikos for two seasons, before being replaced by Odysseas Vlachodimos during the 2016/17 season, following a dip in form.

Steele signed a one-year deal with Bristol City last summer, but was released at the end of the season, having made three Championship starts and two sub appearances.

Now Forest are in negotiations to bring him to the City Ground.