They may have left things late, but Nottingham Forest have finally rediscovered their mood to spend big in recent weeks and Evangelos Marinakis is now reportedly working to complete yet another deal.

Kalimuendo “ready” for Forest challenge

It’s been quite the week for Nottingham Forest. First, Nuno Espirito Santo’s side kicked off their Premier League campaign with a 3-1 victory over Brentford. Then, their attention turned towards incomings. Omari Hutchinson, James McAtee and Arnaud Kalimuendo all arrived as the Tricky Trees took their summer spending to the £149m-mark.

Delighted to put pen to paper, Kalimuendo told Forest’s official website after becoming the latest to arrive: “When I heard about the interest from Forest, I was honoured. This is a proud moment for me, joining a team who had a strong season last year and a Club with great history.

“I’m ready for the challenge, and I arrive here with good experience. I had a good season last year with goals and assists but I want more and want to reach a new level here.

“I can’t wait to play in the Premier League, and to play at the City Ground. I watched games from last season and it’s clear the fans create a beautiful atmosphere. I’m excited to see them and impatient to get started.”

Even after welcoming three new faces in the last week, however, those at the City Ground are still not done on the transfer front. Reports are now suggesting that Marinakis is personally working on one more arrival for Espirito Santo.

Marinakis calling to finalise Luiz deal

According to TuttoSport, as relayed by Sport Witness, Marinakis is now personally calling to finalise a move to sign Douglas Luiz for Nottingham Forest. The Greek owner has reportedly held direct talks with Juventus chief Damien Comolli in an attempt to reach an agreement and potentially bring any deal closer to the €30m (£26m) mark.

Marinakis’ hands-on approach to the deal is reportedly proving key for Forest and Luiz is seemingly edging ever closer to returning to the Midlands for the first time since leaving Aston Villa last summer.

Whilst Luiz has struggled at Juventus, it wasn’t so long ago that he was thriving at Villa Park and earning the praise of Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola, who said: “He’s a guy who plays all of the minutes.

“He’s an important player for Aston Villa. A guy who’s clever with the ball, so physically strong. He’s a lovely, lovely guy. Today, when he was involved in the game, defensively, offensively, he was good.”

Now, one year on from leaving Villa, he could be about to take the Premier League by storm once again and come back to haunt his former Club at a Midlands rival.