Nottingham Forest have made a promising start to the 2019/20 campaign and currently occupy fifth in the Championship.
Sabri Lamouchi has arrived at the club and quickly laid down some foundations. Counter attacking football, hard work and sheer determination are all attributes required to succeed under him.
Some players in the squad have been forced to wait patiently given the nature of the results.
One of those has been Joao Carvalho. The 22-year-old has started just five games in the league, playing 420 minutes of Championship football all season.
In his defence, the Portuguese maestro didn’t have a pre-season after picking up an injury in a friendly against Alfreton Town.
With Tiago Silva playing well in his absence he has found it tricky to win back his place.
Carvalho showed at times last season just how mesmerising he can be at his best and getting him in the team is probably a conundrum for Lamouchi to crack.
With the games coming thick and fast, Carvalho will get plenty of chances to play. Having three international breaks in quick succession certainly hasn’t helped his case for more game time.
__VIDEO__
Last night Aston Villa defeated Newcastle 2-0. Jack Grealish played out wide on the left with an element of a free role.
The Villa star was magnificent. He was energetic, creative and largely the main focal point of everything good about Dean Smith’s team.
During the game he made most key passes, the most passes by a midfielder and had the most touches of the ball (Who Scored).
Lamouchi has occasionally used Carvalho out wide but his remit has been more focused around hugging the line. That isn’t his game and he has struggled to have an impact.
Utilising the Portugal under-21 international in a similar role to that which Grealish played in last night could prove ideal.
Options
Forest have struggled when it comes to creating chances this season. Although results have been good, it’s fair to say Lamouchi would like his team to create more chances.
As a result of that, it seems somewhat silly that Carvalho his sat on the bench more often than not.
Sammy Ameobi has done a grand job out on the left but at some point, he will need a rest.
Handing Carvalho the chance to shine in a role akin to Jack Grealish at Villa might prove the creative spark that Lamouchi is searching for.
Last season, the Portuguese maestro scored four goals and registered eight assists. He was unplayable against Middlesbrough on Easter Monday and those statistics came despite being largely frozen out by Martin O’Neill.
Lamouchi has done a lot of good so far at the City Ground but if he can solve the Carvalho-sized conundrum, Forest could really start to fly.
Receive a digest of our best Nottingham Forest content each week direct to your mailbox
