Nottingham Forest head coach Steve Cooper has heaped praise on midfielder Danilo after Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Wolves.
Sporting a new hair colour, the Brazilian was handed his first start for a month, with Ryan Yates missing out through injury.
Danilo didn’t disappoint and his energy made the Forest midfield tick. He linked up beautifully with Morgan Gibbs-White for Forest’s goal and this was his best performance.
It’s been a frustrating time at Forest for Danilo. Since arriving in January he had made just five appearances and he’d have been desperate to get involved again.
The 21-year-old signed for the club from Palmeiras during the January transfer window. He cost the club around £16 million and is viewed as one for the future.
Saturday showcased that he’s capable of playing now though. He’s very much a box-to-box midfielder and he could become an important player.
Cooper does rate him and he’s been quizzed on the player following Saturday’s draw with Wolves.
He told The Athletic: “He is an exciting player; an exciting prospect and somebody I’m trying to manage carefully in terms of the exposure we give him.
“That means we must play him as well when we feel it’s right for him.
“You want a quick impact when you sign a player, but sometimes when young players come to clubs, it can be months before they even get a game. We are really happy with him.”
Cooper has heaped praise on Danilo and he must stick with him
It was good to see the head coach give Danilo another chance in the team on Saturday and he grasped it with both hands.
Forest have lacked that energy in the midfield of late and the youngster showed a lot of maturity at the weekend.
It will now be interesting to see what role Danilo plays for the remainder of the 2022/23 campaign.
The energy he added to the midfield ranks won’t have gone unnoticed and hopefully, Cooper chooses to stick with Danilo for the Leeds game tomorrow night.