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Nottingham Forest are hopeful that, after two decades, this season will be the one that finally sees them make a successful push for a return to the top flight.

If this is the start of a new chapter for the club that many people have their fingers crossed that it is, we are still only a few pages in, with pre-season preparations only three weeks old.

And there will be plenty of plot twists to come between now and May.

But, as he looks back on the Reds’ pre-season training camp in Spain, Aitor Karanka sees plenty to be optimistic about.

Following three games against three local sides, there has certainly been a lot to learn about this new squad – one that has been bolstered by nine signings since the end of the season.

And, as he prepares to fly home back to England, Paul Taylor looks back on some of the key talking points following an eventful stay in the picturesque surroundings of San Pedro, Marbella.

Forest will not lack firepower : In the final months of last season, as he pondered who to play up front, Aitor Karanka was hardly blessed with options.

Daryl Murphy’s injuries and personal issues had largely ruled him out of the picture, Apostolos Vellios had been unconvincing and Jason Cummings had been allowed to depart on loan.

Ben Brereton was more often than not called upon to play in the forward role and, make no mistake, he is a young man with a very bright future indeed; with the potential to be a special player at Forest .

Nor did he let anyone down – his goal at QPR, in fact, was one of the abiding memories of the season. But there was a burden of expectation and responsibility that was placed on his shoulders just a little too soon.

Now, in the coming campaign, Brereton will still have a part to play, as will the likes of Joe Lolley, Ben Osborn and Matty Cash, who were all often part of the attacking three within the 4-2-3-1 favoured by Forest’s manager. Murphy too has been back in the picture, looking hungry to prove a point in Spain.

But the burden of responsibility will not be on them alone.

Fighting it out for the places within that attacking quartet will not only be Brereton, Murphy, Lolley, Osborn and Cash, but also Hillal Soudani, Lewis Grabban, Gil Dias, Diogo Goncalves and Joao Carvalho.

That is ten players with genuine quality and a broad range of attributes – including proven goal scoring power, in the case of Grabban and Soudani.

Karanka’s problem will still be who to play up front – just for very different reasons.

(Image: NFFC)

The next generation will have a part to play – and they are ready: Arvin Appiah and Virgil Gomis could both very easily be included in the list of forward options above and, given time in the coming weeks and months, they almost certainly will be called upon to play a part.

Both looked lively when given an opportunity over the past week – and they were far from the only young men from the Nigel Doughty Academy who you could say that about.

Jordan Gabriel and Danny Preston both took their opportunity to impress in the full back positions, with Gabriel in particular offering a fresh reminder of his potential following some bad luck with injuries over the past few seasons.

Anel Ahmedhodzic also defended stoutly against Malaga this afternoon, alongside Thomas Lam.

Ryan Yates has also been a commanding presence in that deep lying midfield role and, like Gabriel and Gomis, got his name on the scoresheet while the team have been out in Marbella.

Yates is still expected to go out on loan this season, particularly if Forest manage to bring Jack Colback back to the City Ground.

But these are all young men who have proved that, if Forest do need to call upon them this season, they are ready to play a part.

There is still a decision to make over the goalkeepers: With Costel Pantilimon still finding his sharpness after making a permanent return to the City Ground in the last few weeks, the duties between the posts have been shared almost equally between Jordan Smith and Stephanos Kapino.

Pantilimon, the Romanian international, will be first choice in the coming campaign; he has not been signed to sit on the bench.

But Karanka has admitted himself in the last few days that he must still decide on the future of the other two keepers.

This is not perhaps as dramatic as it sounds. The reality is that he must decide whether Smith or Kapino is deputy; is the one who will sit on the bench and provide immediate back up for Pantilimon.

The interesting, most telling part comes after that.

Because will either Smith or Kapino be happy to be third choice keeper in the coming season? Or would they prefer to go elsewhere, in search of first team football.

A loan move would not feel like a huge kick in the teeth for Smith, an intelligent young man who fully recognises the learning curve he is on.

But it might be more of a blow to Kapino, who will have signed for Forest expecting to be first choice; expecting to build on the top level experience he had with Olympiacos.

To further complicate things, their performances have been on a roughly similar level, over the last three games. Although the two best saves have been made by Smith, against Real Betis and Malaga, and he might just have made a marginally better claim for that back up position.

Aitor Karanka still loves a versatile player: Jack Robinson has been signed as a left back but can also play in the centre of defence, Hillal Soudani can play on the right side or up front, the trio of Portuguese additions can all play pretty much anywhere across that attacking three – and Ben Osborn can do a job almost anywhere, beyond right back, centre-half and in goal.

And he’d probably give that a good go.

With Joe Lolley playing frequently in a number 10 role when he has been involved over the past week – and looking pretty good there too – Karanka now has a host of players who can do different jobs within the side.

In an era when you can have more than half a team on the substitutes bench, that may not sound massively important.

But whatever starting XI he selects and whoever he has on the bench, it feels as though Karanka is always going to have plenty of options at his disposal this season.

And that can never be a bad thing.

It isn’t just the forward line that is hard to predict: It is frankly almost impossible to forecast which four players will make up the attacking three and the lone striker at Bristol City on the first day of the new season.

There are endless possibilities. And, as discussed above, that may well prove to be one of the most exciting, intriguing aspects of the new season.

But the back four is no easier to predict, either.

And, again, it is for the best possible reasons.

While the search for another right back continues – with Sam Byram at the top of Forest’s list of targets – Tendayi Darikwa is a good bet for the right back spot, even if Gabriel has offered a timely reminder of his abilities in recent days.

But beyond that, it is anyone’s guess.

Robinson is an astute signing and Karanka confirmed that he has very much joined as a left back, despite playing for much of last season as a central defender for QPR – a position he is equally adept in.

But Osborn has rolled up his sleeves and picked up where he left off last season, capping off some solid performances at left back with an outstanding goal against Malaga – with his right peg.

Then in the centre of defence, it is no exaggeration to say Forest could have as much strength in depth in that position as any other club in the Championship.

Joe Worrall and Tobias Figueiredo will both be back in contention for the game at Oldham next weekend, after finishing last season with minor injuries that required surgery.

And both are men who more than demonstrated what they are capable of, last season.

But Michael Dawson has built his reputation over a far longer period than that and has not returned to his first club to sit on the bench.

And, in the games so far, Danny Fox has continued to demonstrate how important his passing ability from the back can be to the side.

Add Robinson, Ahmedhodzic and even Thomas Lam – with Karanka yet to make a decision over his long-term future – to the mix and it starts to become easier to understand why they are willing to allow a previously steady performer, in Michael Mancienne, to leave the club.