Are Nottingham Forest living to regret not signing Cardiff City playmaker?

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A glut of new talent arrived at Nottingham Forest during the summer with boss Aitor Karanka tasked with winning promotion.

Each position on the pitch was strengthened during the last transfer window and the Reds splashed substantial cash in the process.

Forest currently sit ninth in the Championship after a reasonable start to the season. Karanka’s men have been defeated just twice so far, with the second of those defeats coming on Saturday, when Norwich secured a 2-1 win on Trentside.

The defeat did perhaps highlight a lack of creative spark within the Forest ranks, particularly in the final third, with the Reds looking somewhat lost when Joao Carvalho and Joe Lolley were withdrawn.

On Saturday, Forest were crying out for someone to step off the bench and offer the Norwich defenders something to think about. Lee Tomlin was in the Reds’ ranks last season and his presence on Saturday might have made all the difference.

Karanka opted not to sign the Cardiff City man on a permanent deal in the summer and on Saturday’s showing he might potentially be regretting such a decision.

Tomlin developed a strong rapport with the Forest faithful last season, scoring four goals during his loan spell at the City Ground.

Although he might have struggled to be a regular starter in the current Forest team, his creative spark and energy would have proved a useful asset from the bench.

Forest are blessed with lots of depth these days but players such as Hillal Soudani and Diogo Goncalves are not experienced Championship performers, whereas Tomlin is.

If the Reds continue to toil on the creative front, particularly at home, then Karanka might just pursue the massively out of favour Cardiff man once more when the transfer window reopens.