Nottingham Forest manager Aitor Karanka believes his current squad is the best he has ever started a season with, reports the Nottingham Post. 

The Spaniard has spent over £20m on eleven new arrivals this summer and is not finished yet, with a new right-back still set to arrive at the City Ground.

When he was asked if this is the strongest squad he has started a season with at his press conference today he said: "Yes it is.

“At Middlesbrough, I started two pre-seasons in the Championship and in both pre-seasons we got many of the players in the last week (of the window).

“In those days the end of the transfer window was at the end of August. So we played the first four or five games without our full squad.

“This season has been different because I have more experience now. I had 10 months on holiday (without a job). So I was ready to work in the summer. The club is hungry, the crowd is hungry and I am hungry.”

So far Forest have brought in Costel Pantillimon, Luke Steele, Jack Robinson, Michael Dawson, Tobias Figueiredo, Jack Colback, Joao Carvalho, Gil Dias, Diogo Goncalves, Hillal Soudani and Lewis Grabban.

Sam Byram is thought to be a priority as far as a new right-back goes for Karanka, with the club working on a loan deal for the West Ham man.

But the manager is not too worried about the situation, as last season's first choice right-back Tendayi Darikwa continues to impress in pre-season.

The Verdict 

Whilst most of us can only speculate on the strength of the squad, given the number of unknown names within it, Karanka is somebody who will have seen them play and can actually judge them.

Forest fans will be delighted to hear that given the success the Spaniard has had in this league with apparently weaker squads.

However, having a strong squad and having a strong team can be two very different things.

If all these brilliant players cannot click then the quality of the squad becomes irrelevant.

Nottingham Forest fans... Thoughts?