The ink will barely have dried on the Nottingham Forest contracts James Ward-Prowse and Morato penned on deadline day but already thoughts will be turning to January.

Transfer planning never stops. And given the winter window will soon come around, the Reds will be aiming to build on the positive business they have already done.

By then, they will have a better sense of how the season is going and what will be required for Nuno Espirito Santo's side to fulfil their potential. Progress is the watchword this term and any business done in January will help towards that.

The summer window saw Forest adopt a careful and considered approach where signings were concerned. Sensible deals were done, the club recruited smartly and avoided being dragged into any last-minute panic buying.

The path has been set for January in that sense. Going down the same kind of route can serve the Reds well again.

They steered clear of paying over the odds for a striker before the August 30 deadline. There is still a question mark over whether Nuno has enough in attack, but a case can certainly be made that Forest were better off not bringing in a forward at all than spending silly money to fill a gap.

In the past, the club might not have taken that particular course of action. Their late push to capture Michy Batshuayi from Chelsea in 2022 springs to mind.

Nevertheless, it would not come as a surprise if the Reds resume their forward search come the turn of the year. It will fall on Chris Wood and Taiwo Awoniyi to carry Nuno's side through until then, although plenty of others in the squad are capable of sharing the goalscoring burden.

"It is up to us. The window is closed," Nuno said last weekend when asked whether his squad has sufficient goals in it. "Those that are here want to be here. This desire to be here and improve allowed us to look for options. I can mention to you that we have our wingers (Ramon Sosa and Jota Silva) and if we work with them with some patience, they can play in the last line and give us different things."

If Forest's January window follows a similar theme to the summer, the above quotes from Nuno are telling for two other reasons. He was clear about what he wanted from the club's transfer dealings, and it seems unlikely much will have changed by 2025.

The Portuguese likes to have players with versatility amid his preference for a small dressing room. With numbers tight, he likes some of his charges to be able to cover a few different positions.

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Jota and Sosa can step in up front. Morato can play left-back as well as centre-back. Elliot Anderson is flexible about where he operates. Eric da Silva Moreira has the ability to take up the role of a winger. If the Reds feel they need to strengthen in January, recruiting players with versatility is sure to be key again.

Additionally, Nuno's point about "those that are here want to be here" is telling. Right from the start of the summer, he underlined the importance of keeping hold of key players. Doing so will arguably carry even greater weight in January.

Losing star men midway through a season can be tough for any team. The likes of Murillo, Morgan Gibbs-White, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Anthony Elanga and Neco Williams all have admirers. But having come through the summer with their prized assets still in place, Forest will surely be keen for that to be the case again in the winter window.

The Reds showed they mean business with the decisions made in the summer. That offers an insight into what to expect once the window reopens in a few months' time.

What should be Forest's January transfer priority? Click HERE to have your say