Last season was certainly one to forget for Nottingham Forest after just staying up on the final day of the season, and one reason they came so close to relegation was their defence.

It took the Reds until the middle of November to secure their first clean sheet of the season, though it never really improved all season.

On too many occasions the East Midlands club conceded a number of goals through some shoddy defending, but the man that could improve that is the former Arsenal man Armand Traore.

Traore was brought to the club by former manager Philippe Montanier last summer and whilst many argued against the idea of signing the former QPR left back, he did impress in the few appearances he made for the club.

Against promotion winners Brighton, Traore comfortably dealt with the threat of the Championship player of the year Anthony Knockaert at left-back.

He also produced an outstanding display playing on the left side of a back three against another promotion winning team in Huddersfield Town, nullifying the threat of Nakhi Wells.

Though the key issue with the 27-year-old is his fitness.

The talented defender continues to pick up niggling injuries and knocks that put him out of action for a number of weeks meaning he can never pick up some form.

However, Traore has been on a strict fitness programme during the off-season and if he can stay fit, Mark Warburton may well have one of the best defenders in the league available to him.

Thoughts?