Nottingham Forest boss Aitor Karanka has praised forward Hillal Soudani for the impact he has made at the club, although suggested he still needs time to get to grips with English football.

The 30-year-old was one of many summer arrivals, joining the Reds after a very successful time with Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia.

And, the Algerian international has already made an impact at the City Ground, scoring the winner against Reading last week, as Forest secured their first win of the season.

Yet, Soudani was a sub in that game and is likely to return to the bench against Wigan on Saturday. However, Karanka is delighted with his attitude to the game.

"His best thing is his passion. Because he trains and he plays in the same way. His character is special. It is important on the pitch and off it, to have that," the Spaniard told the Nottingham Post.

But, the former Boro boss admitted he still has areas of his game he needs to work on as he adpats to playing in a new league:

"Now he has confidence, but he needs to understand the game here; he needs to understand the intensity of games here. He needs to understand our tactics with and without the ball – but those things are coming."

The Verdict

Soudani has settled in reasonably well to English football and has shown that he has some serious talent in his performances so far.

There is a lot of competition for places at Forest this season, so maintaining those high standards in training will be crucial.

We've seen over the years that foreign players can take time to adapt and Karanka clearly thinks there's a lot more to come from Soudani, which should excite supporters.

Thoughts, Forest fans? Let us know in the comments below.