It was a busy transfer deadline day for Nottingham Forest as Aitor Karanka shuffled the pack on a frantic day to try and equip himself with a squad capable of propelling the club up the Championship in the second half of the season. 

One of the new men in at the City Ground is former Huddersfield Town man Joe Lolley, and he has already expressed how keen he is to get started in a Forest shirt.

He has also spoken about how well he is settling into the club under former Boro boss Karanka, which will no doubt enthuse Forest fans ahead of their trip to face a Fulham side playing well and full of confidence tomorrow.

He told the club website: "Any player wants to play but it is up to the manager to choose what he thinks is his best eleven. Everyone in the squad will have their part to play, everyone will want to play and that is why I have come here.

"Like any player, I always give everything I have got and work as hard as I can. I am fast and direct and hopefully I can score some goals.

"The lads are all really welcoming and all seem like good guys. I am looking forward to getting to know them more.

Speaking about his first day at Forest, he said: "It was like the first day at school! I didn't know anyone and it made it easier that there were so many new faces, so everyone was in the same boat.

"It was a bit of a nervous day but I am glad that the first day is over and I can look forward to the days and months ahead.

"The lads have said that they seem to thrive on the bigger games, like Wolves a couple of weeks ago, so we are looking forward to the test."

The Verdict

Lolley has the work rate and discipline to succeed under Karanka and that might be perfectly suited to another spoiling job like the one Forest did on Wolves last month, at Craven Cottage.

It will take a while for the new Forest arrivals to settle down and I wouldn't expect great things from their squad in recent weeks while their players get used to their new surroundings and team mates.

Forest fans - what do you make of the signing of Lolley and his first message? Let us know in the comments below...