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'A desire to build something special' - Postecoglou joins Forest

Nick Mashiter

BBC Sport football news reporter

There's no doubt, despite Nuno Espirito Santo's complaints, Nottingham Forest strengthened in the summer, spending £180m and breaking their transfer record.

Omari Hutchinson's £37.5m move from Ipswich was a club record while James McAtee, Arnaud Kalimuendo and Dilane Bakwa all joined in deals worth around £30m.

Forest's success was built on Nuno's counter-attacking style, allowing the opposition to have the ball, but Postecoglou's high press, possession-based game would be a real change at the City Ground.

Nikola Milenkovic and Murillo have excelled under Nuno but, without additional cover and the chances of being exposed more often, will they fit a new style?

Postecoglou took a more pragmatic approach in their Europa League semi-final second leg win at Bodo/Glimt in May, opting for safety first as Spurs threw a blanket on the game to ensure they progressed.

So he can change when necessary, but there was not much evidence of that in the Premier League last season when Tottenham lost 22 of their 38 games, finishing 27 points behind Forest.

McAtee, Morgan Gibbs-White, Elliot Anderson and Callum Hudson-Odoi all like to have the ball, while Ola Aina and Neco Williams like to get up from full-back. So there are weapons there for Postecoglou, but there could well be chinks in the armour going forward.

Morgan Gibbs-WhiteGetty Images

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