Nottingham Forest will already be looking ahead at the deals they can strike this summer.

After a disappointing mid-table finish, they will be looking ahead to next year and Aitor Karanka seems like he could be the right man to take them forward.

However, at the moment, he currently has a number of players that he does not want, inherited from Mark Warburton, and these need to be shipped if possible this summer.

Instead, Forest need to bring in a few new players to have them competing at the top end of the Championship rather than in mid-table.

The platform has been set now by Forest, who can use their mid-table finish as a springboard to launch a play-off bid next year.

But these play-off ambitions hinge on their summer transfer business and Karanka needs to be shrewd in the market.

Here are three players he should bring in to fire the Reds to play-off contention.

Karanka desperately needs to sign an experienced defender to partner Tobias Figueiredo and shore things up at the back.

Dawson is set to become a free agent when his Hull City deal runs out and he has experience and leadership in abudance.

The 34-year-old would definitely be interested in finishing his career at his first club too.

Maddison would be the ideal creative midfielder for Forest and they could get him for a cut-price fee after Peterborough United placed him on the transfer list.

The 24-year-old can play anywhere in the attacking midfield region and his tally of 21 assists is unrivalled, to add to an impressive haul of 10 goals as well in the third tier.

Forest need a new striker as a matter of priority and they need to bring in one of Grabban, Jack Marriott (Peterborough) or Abel Hernandez (soon-to-be a free agent after leaving Hull).

Bournemouth are willing to sell Grabban, who has struck 20 Championship goals this season, and Aston Villa might not fancy making his deal permanent if they go up.