Midfield, transfers, starting XI - Nottingham Forest questions answered as preparations step up

The start of the Premier League season is fast drawing into view for Nottingham Forest, and preparations are continuing apace.

The club have been busy in the transfer market with six new faces in so far - and they are not done yet. And on the pitch, Steve Cooper’s side played their second summer friendly on Tuesday night, winning 1-0 at Burton Albion.

There was plenty to talk about when Reds reporter Sarah Clapson held a live Q&A, answering fans’ questions and responding to comments. Here’s how it panned out.

I think Forest have already shown they mean business. Six signings in a relatively short space of time - and promising ones, too - is pretty good going by anyone's standards. They've been busy so far, and more still to come - hopefully not too far away.

Agree Davis, Gibbs-White and Garner would be excellent additions too. Gibbs-White and Garner would be a little more difficult to get done, though. Some tough competition for G-W and United want to take a good look at Garner.

The recruitment has been very good so far, though. So even if it's not those three who come in, plenty of reasons to have faith the club will get it right. Not every signing comes off how you'd hope, but more often than not in the last couple of windows they've been a success.

I would expect Richards, Williams and the international boys to play on Saturday against Barnsley. Thought they might have done so on Tuesday night, but they had an extra few days off.

The starting XI for both friendlies has been strong - not quite the one you'd expect to line up at Newcastle, but that's partly been dictated by who was/wasn't available. As we get closer to the start of the season, expect to see something more like the first-choice team. There's still a