Aitor Karanka has enjoyed a reasonable start to life with Nottingham Forest, although he will be hoping things improve next season after a full pre-season.  

We’ve already seen signs of how Karanka wants his Forest side to play and there is no doubt that after a full summer, Forest will be a much more competitive outfit.

Forest made good use of the January transfer window, particularly towards the end of the month, as Karanka padded his squad with the experience that had been lacking under Mark Warburton.

One player who was brought in on-loan was Jack Colback, who arrived at the City Ground on-loan from Newcastle United.

There are no guarantees that Colback, who has been good since his arrival, will sign permanently and Karanka could be on the lookout for a replacement in the summer.

Here at FLW, we take a look at Forest’s central midfield and identify FOUR players we believe could be an upgrade on Colback…

Karanka has turned to experience, but might look to mix some more youth in his squad in the summer.

If he does that in central midfield, Aribo could be a player he considers, as he has been terrific for Charlton Athletic this season.

The 21-year-old offers a goalscoring threat from a central midfield role, and unlike Colback, certainly has his best years ahead of him.

Karanka and Leadbitter have delivered a promotion at Middlesbrough as coach and captain before, and the duo reuniting would be big for Forest.

Leadbitter is about as experienced as they come in central midfield and would add a lot to Forest’s squad.

Lansbury left Forest for Aston Villa little over 12 months ago, but it hasn’t worked out at Villa Park.

The midfielder has found his opportunities limited and could be on the move again in the summer.

Whether Forest’s fans would welcome him back with open arms is up for debate, but Lansbury would be an improvement on Colback.

Nolan has been terrific for Shrewsbury Town in League One this season, with the 25-year-old helping his side into promotion contention alongside Blackburn Rovers and Wigan Athletic.

Adding the midfielder alongside a player like Ben Watson could be a stroke of genius from Karanka.

Nolan offers a goalscoring threat and is more than deserving of a shot in the Championship.