Nottingham Forest made a whopping 23 new signings in the summer in an ambitious effort to build a squad that could compete in the Premier League this season upon their return to the top flight for the first time in over two decades.

However, the Tricky Trees have struggled to make their presence known in the league table so far as they are currently in the relegation zone, but over their last five outings have started to show that they could be capable of retaining their top-tier status over the second half of the season.

Forest have only lost one of their last five Premier League fixtures with Steve Cooper's side finally starting to get some momentum going in their performances, however, the World Cup break has stumped their ability to continue to climb the table until they return to action after Christmas against Manchester United.

Despite the revival at The City Ground, there will be a lot for Evangelos Marinakis to learn from in his previous transfer decisions and considerations to be made when the transfer window reopens in January. He will likely tread more carefully when sanctioning moves for new players to come in that can legitimately improve the team.

One decision that Marinakis could now regret, however, was not making a more substantial move for RB Salzburg sensation Noah Okafor in the summer, with the club linked with a move for the talented 22-year-old back in June.

The £35m-valued versatile forward has established himself as one to watch in the Austrian Bundesliga due to his consistency and potential displayed over the season so far.

Okafor - who was dubbed a "superb talent" by Josh Bunting - has scored seven goals, registered one assist and created two big chances in 14 league appearances so far, as well as averaging 1.3 key passes and 1.9 shots on goal per game, proving that he is a nightmare for opponents in the final third.

The Salzburg star will be heading to the World Cup alongside Nottingham Forest's Remo Freuler to represent Switzerland during the tournament and due to his performance this season, he has not only captured the attention of his national team manager but several elite Premier League clubs are keeping close tabs.

Sky Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg has reported that both Liverpool and Manchester City are now interested in signing Okafor:

"No negotiations now but there’s is interest from clubs like MCFC, LFC & AC Milan."

With that being said, there is no doubt that Marinakis has made a big mistake by failing to pursue a deal for Okafor before he caught the attention of some of the biggest clubs in the world.

Indeed, their chance of signing the exciting attacker has surely gone with that fact simply rubberstamping how much of a missed opportunity this is for the club's owner.

With Forest scoring just 11 times all campaign, his addition would have been invaluable.