Nottingham Forest have not had the fairytale start to their Premier League campaign so far and Steve Cooper will be desperate to reignite the momentum he inspired at the club during their performances in the Championship last season.

The Tricky Trees have spent the vast majority of their current top-flight experience in the relegation zone, but ahead of the World Cup break showed glimpses of good form losing just one of their last five outings and are now only one point away from climbing out of the bottom three.

Indeed, Cooper has a completely newly-built squad with 22 signings made in the summer transfer window so there was no doubt that the Welsh manager would need time to get his team connecting and building relationships on the pitch over the first few weeks and months of the season.

Although the City Ground faithful will be hoping the team can pick up where they left off when they return to action against Manchester United at Old Trafford after Christmas, Cooper will be given another opportunity to fine-tune his squad in the January transfer window.

One player who was linked with a Nottingham Forest move in the summer and could become available when the market reopens in the new year is £20m Tottenham Hotspur outcast Djed Spence.

The former Nottingham Forest loanee played a key role in their promotion success in the Championship last season and despite snubbing a permanent move to Trentside for North London, Cooper may now get a second chance to snap up the star.

It has been reported that Antonio Conte could send Spence back out on loan for the remainder of the season to build up his Premier League experience whilst he is out of favour in the Spurs team, and a move back to Forest could be hugely advantageous for both Cooper and the player.

As mentioned, it has taken a lot of time investment to get all the newly signed players to understand their roles and Cooper's philosophy but if the club could secure Spence as a short-term solution, the right-back would surely have no trouble fitting back into his former role.

Over 42 Championship appearances in 2021/22, the 22-year-old - who was hailed as the "real deal" by Trevor Sinclair - scored two goals, registered four assists and created six big chances, as well as averaging one key pass, 1.5 interceptions, 1.4 tackles, 1.1 clearances and winning 5.8 duels per game, proving that he thrived in Cooper's tactics.

Spence has further been described as a "swashbuckling" player by Ian Wright but has made just three league appearances all season where he has averaged a mere three minutes. Therefore, the promise of more first-team football would be extremely tempting for the talented right-back and something Forest may be willing to provide.

With that being said, it would be a no-brainer for Evangelos Marinakis and Cooper to snap up Spence's services for the second half of the season should he be given the opportunity to do so, as the player's experience in the team could prove highly valuable in Forest's attempts to retain their Premier League status.