Nottingham Forest are in a position in the Premier League – fourth – where clubs traditionally compete for Champions League qualification and, finally, an unwanted reputation for chaos appears in the past.

Under the management of Nuno Espírito Santo, Forest are the surprise package of the season and last weekend’s victory over Aston Villa – a club who know all about a revival story – suggests the magic carpet ride could continue.

It was only two years ago when Forest were being unfairly dismissed as mad spenders in the transfer market, after that initial year of adaptation when 30 players arrived in their first Premier League season for more than two decades.

Now, however, there is a level of respect and understanding from outside the city that Forest are making huge strides forward under ambitious owner Evangelos Marinakis.

Recruitment is certainly one aspect that Forest are getting right. Towards the end of last season, the penny seemed to drop that Forest’s player trading had rather gone under the radar.

Take the examples of Callum Hudson-Odoi (a £3 million recruit), Murillo (£10.2 million), Anthony Elanga (£13.5 million) and Ola Aina (free transfer).

This season there has been further acknowledgement that Forest’s signings deserve wider recognition.

Players as ‘pieces in the puzzle’

The club’s ultimate plan over the past two years has been to recruit smartly, bring the average age down and build a squad whose values will multiply.

With the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) a constant concern, shrewd recruitment is now more important than ever.

Forest have already secured notable results this season against Liverpool (they are the only ones to beat Arne Slot’s team so far), Manchester United, Chelsea and Villa. Nuno believes the main reason is clear.

“The clubs like ourselves, Villa, Brighton and Bournemouth are getting closer to the ‘Big Six’ because we also now have the possibilities to sign better players,” he said.

“Recruitment is more important than it has ever been. It is not only about tactical understanding and ability, but the human aspect and where you want to go. They have to fit into our culture.

“It is also about avoiding mistakes, and being absolutely sure that when the player comes in he’s a piece that fits into your puzzle.”

Forest’s three key figures on recruitment are chief football officer Ross Wilson, global technical director George Syrianos and head of recruitment Pedro Ferreira.

Wilson counts Rangers, Southampton and Watford among his former clubs and, aside from recruitment, leads the daily football operation and support functions while modernising the academy.

Syrianos has established a reputation across Europe for utilising data and analytics very impressively, while Ferreira is well connected after 17 years with Benfica in a variety of roles.

Ahead of the January window, the trio are working closely to assist Nuno in building the squad.

Twenty new video scouts

The hard work never stops, and recruitment staff spend hours poring over laptops watching clips and players in the mission to find the next star.

Over the past 12 months or so, Forest’s scouting and recruitment department has been drastically expanded. At least 20 video scouts have been employed to observe players identified by data.

While clubs like Brighton have almost exclusively relied on data to sign players, Forest prefer to use a combination of video, data and live scouting, and utilising strong connections across Europe and, specifically, South America.

Wilson, Syrianos and Ferreira are in daily contact, with Marinakis also heavily involved in the process.

This season, Forest’s recruitment deserves even closer scrutiny.

Nikola Milenkovic, the Serbia international, is arguably the jewel in the crown so far. Signed for just over £10 million from Fiorentina, he has been outstanding in central defence. Ruthlessly efficient and reliable, he seems to have an inbuilt radar for sniffing out danger.

Milenkovic quickly emerged as Forest’s No 1 target in the position over the summer for two key reasons: they conceded a league-high 22 goals from set-pieces last season, while Milenkovic won the most aerial duels in Serie A.

The plan was also to recruit a right-sided defender who could play alongside Murillo, and Milenkovic’s performance in the Europa Conference League final against another Marinakis club, Olympiacos, pressed Forest into action.

Other summer signings have flourished too. Elliot Anderson was a victim of Newcastle’s PSR issues, leaving for effectively £15 million in a deal which included goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos moving to the North East.

Anderson, 22, has proved another excellent addition and is able to operate in a number of attacking positions. Forest regard him as a future England international.

January transfer plans

Plans for the January window are being ramped up, with Forest’s main focus a forward to provide more competition for Chris Wood and Taiwo Awoniyi.

Santiago Giménez at Feyenoord and Eddie Nketiah, now at Crystal Palace, were targets in the summer while there was also very strong interest in Eintracht Frankfurt’s Omar Marmoush.

A team-mate of Mohamed Salah at international level with Egypt, Marmoush was regarded as made-to-measure for the Premier League, though Forest pulled out in the final days of the window after making at least two bids and being told he was not for sale.

Currently the second-leading scorer in the Bundesliga, with the most assists, Marmoush now appears out of Forest’s reach with clubs such as Tottenham and Bayern Munich after him.

However, it once again proves Forest’s eye for targets in Europe with high potential.

One player who has been regularly watched is Millwall’s teenage winger Romain Esse. He is more of a long-term target, and Forest are aware that Palace remains his most likely destination, but it underlines how the club feel gems can also be found in the Championship.

There is an option to sign Aston Villa loanee Àlex Moreno permanently but, at this stage, there is little advantage in activating it next month.

A couple of players could leave on loan, with Republic of Ireland international Andrew Omobamidele a target for a number of clubs.

Leeds United showed interest in signing the centre-back in August, with manager Daniel Farke giving him his debut at former club Norwich City.

James Ward-Prowse, signed on loan from West Ham, has made only six appearances but a recall is highly unlikely at this stage as he is viewed as a top professional and brilliant around the training ground.

There is also less pressure on Forest to make additions in January as midfielders Ibrahim Sangaré and Danilo are on schedule to return imminently from injury.

Though they were both injured very early into the campaign, recent statistics revealed that Forest have the second-best injury record in the league.

Talks with Wood over new contract

As first reported by Telegraph Sport on Oct 28, Forest are also in talks with Wood, their leading scorer, over a new contract and are hopeful of reaching an agreement. Negotiations over a new deal for Aina are also advanced.

Forest face Brentford on Saturday and Nuno is expected to hold fresh talks with the recruitment team next week.

He is heavily involved in who signs, and provides an intriguing insight into how it all works.

“In the summer, we needed wingers and I gave them my opinions on what profile I wanted,” he said.

“We already had Anthony [Elanga] and Callum [Hudson-Odoi], so we needed a player with different characteristics.

“We have about 15 options and then it filters down to 10, and then finally you decide on the target.

“After that, I then go out to the grass and let the departments do their jobs to find the next one.”