‘It’s a departure that needs to happen’ – Nottingham Forest face dilemma with 24-year-old as January edges closer: The verdict | OneFootball

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Football League World

·30 November 2021

‘It’s a departure that needs to happen’ – Nottingham Forest face dilemma with 24-year-old as January edges closer: The verdict

Article image:‘It’s a departure that needs to happen’ – Nottingham Forest face dilemma with 24-year-old as January edges closer: The verdict

This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict’ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

After being given another chance by Chris Hughton at Nottingham Forest earlier this season, Joao Carvalho has once again disappeared from the radar of Reds’ fans.


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Despite being on the bench for most of Steve Cooper’s time in charge so far, the Portuguese midfielder has yet to make it onto the pitch, with his last appearance coming in August’s 1-1 draw with Derby County.

Carvalho was withdrawn at half-time that afternoon and hasn’t been seen since, and having not seen a single minute of action under Cooper you have to fear for the future of Forest’s club-record signing.

So what happens next then for Carvalho and Forest? Should the club be looking to get a little bit of the fee they paid for the 24-year-old? The FLW team have had their say on what action should be taken.

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Ned Holmes

The last few weeks have shown that Joao Carvalho doesn’t seem to have a particularly important role in Steve Cooper’s plans moving forward, so it would make sense for them to move him on in the upcoming window.

Carvalho is still just 24 and we’ve seen his quality in the past, so there may well be a number of clubs interested in taking him off Forest’s hands.

With his deal set to run until 2023, the Reds may even be able to get some of the £13.5 million transfer fee they paid Benfica for him back but they shouldn’t be hoping for too much.

The attacking midfielder is reportedly on £15,000 per week, so getting him off the wage bill as soon as possible would be a boost and should allow Cooper to make more signings in the January window.

Clearly, he’s a player with talent but it doesn’t seem as if he is someone the new manager is that excited about so now seems the right time to offload him.

Alfie Burns

You’ve got to say that it makes sense to at least try, although it’s proved difficult to find suitors over recent transfer windows.

Steve Cooper has a lot of a variety in his attacking trio and others that are clearly ahead of Carvalho in the pecking order.

Add to the fact that January is his first chance to bring in his own players, you’d think he’s got a different idea of what’s needed.

There’s a player in Carvalho and it’s a shame we’ve not seen the best of him. Unfortunately, it feels like January will be the time to try and move him on again.

It’ll most likely be a loan but, let’s be fair, Forest could probably do with finding a permanent home for their record signing.

Adam Jones

It’s a departure that needs to happen for all parties.

Even with a new manager at the helm, he isn’t getting much of a chance and his sale would allow Forest to clear hefty wages off the books in January and allow them to invest in other areas.

Considering the fee he joined for, he isn’t likely to be on a cheap contract, so his departure would come as a relief to everyone including Carvalho himself who hasn’t managed to fulfil his potential at the City Ground.

Steve Cooper has brought a much-needed fresh feel to the East Midlands after being stuck in neutral under Chris Hughton – and unfortunately for the midfielder – he’s associated with the Forest of old.

With a new strategy in place from the board, he won’t be able to fit in Forest’s plans and even if they don’t receive a huge amount of money from his sale – offers need to be seriously considered in January.

It would be foolish not to for a side needing to stay on the right side of the EFL’s profit and sustainability rules.

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