Nottingham Forest are historically one of the better teams in English football, but the last two decades have been an era to forget for Forest fans.

A few play off near misses followed by a period of mid-table mediocrity have made a promotion back to the Premier League seem a distant dream rather than reality.

Now, a return to the top flight seems well on. After waving off ex-owner Fawaz Al-Hasawi, Forest went into the transfer window and invested in talent from across the continent including some highly rated Portuguese talents, leading some to joke that they were ‘doing a Wolves’.

Should Forest really be ‘doing a Wolves’, it is no laughing matter. The Reds really believe they are finally ready to make a serious push for the Premier League, which is evident from the season ticket sales which are higher than they have been for years.

Aitor Karanka is the man who Forest trust to bring top flight football back to Nottingham, but will he learn from his experiences at Middlesbrough and go into the market rather than trusting the players that got them there?

Of course it is all hypothetical at this stage for Forest, but here we look at FOUR players Karanka may axe if they got promoted…

Jack Colback has been an ever-present for Karanka's side thus far this season and is arguably one of the better performers in the Forest side.

Despite this, Colback has never really managed to nail down consistency in the top flight and Forest would surely head into the transfer market to get a more seasoned midfielder.

Costel Pantilimon has Premier League experience with a number of clubs and never really looked out of place, however numerous managers have gone into the market to sign new goalkeepers, potentially highlighting the Romanian's weaknesses and showing he is not up to the standard of the top division.

Daryl Murphy has scored goals nearly everywhere he has played in his career and will continue to do so for Nottingham Forest this season.

Despite this, the experienced Irish striker is not Premier League standard. When signed by Newcastle, he hardly played a minute in the top flight and if Forest go up, they will invest in a better number nine fit for the division.

Sadly for Michael Hefele, despite playing a pivotal role in Huddersfield's promotion, he barely featured in the Premier League.

If Forest were to be promoted, it may be a similar fate for the big German.