Nottingham Forest are two strikers down on where they were a couple of weeks ago, with Apostolos Vellios and Hillal Soudani having been moved out.
Few tears will be shed there.
Ten goals are all that have headed through the exits.
Across 53 appearances.
The vast majority of those outings were taken in by Vellios across two seasons on Trentside.
He quickly found himself slipping down the pecking order and through the exits.
A loan spell at Waasland-Beveren delivered no upturn in fortune.
The 27-year-old is now back in his native Greece at Atromitos.
He could end up facing Soudani in domestic competition next season.
That is because the Algeria international has linked up with Olympiakos.
Unfortunate
(Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
His is a tale of what might have been in England.
An unfortunate injury prevented him from showing what he is all about.
Two goals in eight appearances was a decent return to open up, but he was not seen again after hitting the treatment table.
Soudani has told Sportske Novosti: “So it is in life and football; you do not always get everything you want, you cannot influence all things.
“I started great, played eight games, scored two goals; I just felt great there and the fans have been fond of me. But I lost those six months.
“I believe I could now play in England, continue where I left off, but the Olympiakos offer seemed very appealing to me as a new challenge, and I decided to accept it.”
That sense of moving on has been echoed by Vellios.
He has said on Atromitos’ official website: “As far as our goals are concerned, I would like to make a good start in Europe in the first place to further strengthen the group’s image abroad and then go even higher in the Greek championship.
“I hope to score a lot of goals with Atromitos jersey so I can help the team achieve all of its goals.”
Declarations of ambition from those taking on new challenges.
Those left behind at the City Ground wish them well.
They do, however, act as warnings in the current transfer window.
Forest need to get their next recruitment calls in the final third right.
They could be the difference between a promotion push in 2019-20 and more mid-table mediocrity.
Promise
Vellios and Soudani did not make the desired impact.
The jury is still out on Karim Ansarifard in many ways, despite flashes of promise.
Lewis Grabban and Daryl Murphy are the most reliable options available to O’Neill.
And his selection calls prove as much.
Both know what English football is all about.
Forest need more of those qualities.
Recent history suggests that home-grown talent wins out over foreign fancies – Robert Earnshaw, Dexter Blackstock and Britt Assombalonga over Lars Veldwijk, Rafik Djebbour etc.
There are, of course, no guarantees to be found in the transfer market.
The Reds have, however, been able to free up space in their attacking ranks for arrivals with the potential to slip seamlessly into the fold.
Will that be the approach?