Nottingham Forest are threatening to take the Championship by storm as new owner Evangelos Marinakis continues to bankroll an ambitious summer recruitment drive. The Reds have emerged as the biggest spenders of the transfer window after the Greek shipping magnate purchased the club. They set a high bar by snapping up Benfica’s attacking midfielder Joao Carvalho for £13 million, and they took their summer spending to £24 million with the purchase of Lewis Grabban of Bournemouth this week. It all feels very similar to the successful project at Wolves, who romped to the Championship title last season after splashing out on a raft of Iberian talent.

The highly rated left winger Diogo Goncalves has also joined on loan from Benfica, while centre-back Tobias Figueiredo arrived in a £2 million deal. The formula worked extremely well for Wolves last year, leading them to be dubbed the Barcelona of the Black Country for their thrilling tiki taka football. But they also had a strong English core, and Nottingham Forest have followed suit, recruiting experienced centre-back Michael Dawson and QPR left-back Jack Robinson. Costel Pantilimon, a goalkeeper well-known in English football, has also joined the revolution, along with El Arbi Hillel Soudani and Gil Dias.

Grabban is arguably the most exciting of the lot. He banged in 20 goals during loan spells with Sunderland and Aston Villa in the Championship last season, and Forest beat ambitious clubs like Leeds and Middlesbrough to secure his services. He would not have gone to Forest were he not convinced of their commitment to achieving promotion to the top flight. But the odds are still attractive on the Reds following in Wolves’ footsteps and winning the title. Check out a William Hill review, find the best odds on the market and you will find between 10/1 and 14/1 on Nottingham Forest seizing the Championship as Wolves did before them. Those long odds might tempt a few punters as Marinakis clearly means business.

Nottingham Forest was clearly an attractive target: a two-time European champion with magnificent heritage, a great stadium and a passionate fan base. It has stagnated in recent years, a mainstay of the Championship blighted by inconsistency, but he wants to return the club to its former glory, and a cautious optimism abounds among the players.

“The owners have spent money and they are serious about getting promotion, it’s as simple as that,” said midfielder Tom Watson. “The signings will make a huge difference to the club and not just the Portuguese lads, but people like Michael Dawson as well, as he is somebody who will bring vast experience as well. He has played at the highest level. We have a great mix of a few experienced boys and a few young, enthusiastic players with the energy they bring. Then we have a bit of flair coming in from Portugal.

“The Championship is a very demanding league, you have to be at it in every game. You need people to dig in and, at times, it is going to be tough for us. It is easy saying now that we are going to have a great season, but we have to go out there and do it on a Saturday and a Tuesday. We have to put in some performances and hope that this proves to be the year. But the group is coming together nicely. The boys are all really close and hopefully we can give it a good shot this season.”

It certainly will be tough as it is a ferociously competitive division and it also develops into a real 46-game slog. Stoke are already strengthening in a bid to bounce straight back to the top flight, while Swansea and West Brom could be dangerous. Leeds have brought in the legendary Marco Bielsa to try to lead them back to the Promised Land, Middlesbrough are always in the mix and Derby have made an intriguing appointment in Frank Lampard. But right now it is hard to look past Nottingham Forest as serious contenders for glory next season.