If you thought the transfer talk surrounding Joao Carvalho at Nottingham Forest was bad leading up to the January window, just imagine what the next few weeks are going to be like!
Anybody who has already had their fill had better go into hiding.
Turn off the phone, avoid all contact with newspapers/internet and embrace a state of blissful ignorance.
Silly season is likely to get considerably worse before it gets any better.
What, though, is the end result going to be when it comes to Carvalho?
Opinion remains divided within a fan base that is yet to see the best of a club-record £13 million signing.
For some, cashing in would be the best option.
With the funds generated reinvested in areas of the squad in greater need of strengthening.
To others, Carvalho is the man with the Midas touch.
Spark
Calls for him to be deployed in a favoured No.10 role will continue for as long as he remains out of said position.
He has been on the bench more than he would have liked of late.
That has only served to fan the transfer flames.
Talk of a return to continental Europe for the talented Portuguese has raged amid his efforts to rediscover a spark.
Sabri Lamouchi, though, claims to be unaware of said speculation.
For him, Carvalho remains an important part of the immediate future on Trentside.
He has said in the Nottingham Post when quizzed on the exit rumours: “I don’t know (about them), but I am happy with Joao.
“Maybe if he is a little bit less happy, I can understand that.
“I need quality players and Joao is part of the squad, one with the best quality.
“I want him with me. I want him with Forest. He will help us.”
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You would expect the official line coming out of the club to be nothing else.
Carvalho is a very expensive asset and will not be written off for as long as he remains in contention for competitive minutes.
Forest will also, understandably, be reluctant to part with potential match winners mid-season.
What, though, happens from this point if Carvalho does not figure as prominently as he hopes?
Or as prominently as many feel he should do?
In that instance, the situation remains the same.
Come July 1, we could find ourselves opening the same debate as we did on January 1.
If Carvalho does not nail down a starting berth and become a talisman, then he will leave at some stage.
Are the Reds delivering a long-term show of faith or merely delaying the inevitable?
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