Nottingham Forest have gone big in the transfer market in the past week, with Evangelos Marinakis expecting to see a return on his £100m investment.
To kick off the spending, Forest agreed a deal to sign James McAtee, with the long-term target finally arriving at the City Ground in a deal worth £30m.
Following this, fellow England U21 international Omari Hutchinson is set to join Forest for a £37m fee, while the striking department is also set to be strengthened with the £25m arrival of Arnaud Kalimuendo.
It was certainly a spending spree that was required to bolster the Forest squad ahead of a season of Europa League football, but with it comes lofty expectations from Marinakis.
Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis.
Photo by Michael Regan – The FA/The FA via Getty Images
Evangelos Marinakis expects Nottingham Forest to improve on last season
The signings won’t be finished either as Nuno Espírito Santo stressed the need for more reinforcements in his pre-Brentford press conference, on top of the imminent arrivals.
With this outlay, though, Marinakis wants to see his side improve on last season’s seventh-place finish in the Premier League, with one lofty target in mind, according to the Daily Mail.
The report said: “Was last season’s form, when Forest spent much of the campaign in the top four before eventually finishing seventh, merely an outlier?
“If it was, then nobody has told Marinakis. The Forest owner envisages an improvement this season which, logically, can mean only one thing: Champions League qualification.
MORE FOREST STORIES
🚨🌳 Nottingham Forest agree deal to sign Omari Hutchinson from Ipswich Town for £37m fee, here we go!
Omari, on his way to medical right now as personal terms are also agreed for new #NFFC signing.
Follows James McAtee (done) and Arnaud Kalimuendo (very close). pic.twitter.com/jaSJF4VwsF
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 15, 2025
View Tweet
“That will not be easy, but then Marinakis is a demanding owner. He looks at the squad today, compares it with the roster from last season and sees a clear uplift in quality. It then falls to the players and coach to make it count.”
Including the soon-to-be-announced signings, Marinakis is right to say that the quality in the squad has been boosted, but it’s the quality waiting in the wings that will be the crucial factor as to whether Forest can improve on last season.
Nottingham Forest need a stronger squad to improve on last season
As Forest’s form fell away at the end of the 24/25 campaign, Espírito Santo was relying on Jota Silva and Ramon Sosa to change the tide of games from the bench.
Given that Sosa has left for Palmeiras and Jota is set to follow him out the door, it’s fair to say that the back-up options weren’t working for the Reds.
Therefore, bringing in the likes of Hutchinson and McAtee should immediately help to solve this problem. Whether they’re starting from the bench or even coming in for Dan Ndoye or Callum Hudson-Odoi, the changes that Nuno can make during a match should be more impactful.
The same can be said about Chris Wood, too, with any dip in his form now adequately covered by both Kalimuendo and Igor Jesus.
Champions League may be a push for the Reds this season, but they can make a better go of it with the newfound strength in depth.