£8m Nottingham Forest player may just have changed Nuno’s view of him with his display vs Blackpool

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Nottingham Forest drew 2-2 with Blackpool in the FA Cup yesterday and Nuno Tavares managed to get on the pitch for 45 minutes.

The man signed by Arsenal in 2021 joined Forest on loan in the summer but had featured for just 94 minutes before yesterday.

Now, however, Nuno Espirito Santo has a huge decision to make regarding Tavares at Forest…

Tavares shows what he can offer Forest against Blackpool

It’s fair to say that this is another signing that looks like a pretty bizarre one from a Forest perspective.

Tavares cost Arsenal £8 million and Forest signed him at a time when Harry Toffolo was the only other natural left-sided wing-back option in the Forest ranks.

Ola Aina began the season in the left-back role and it was anticipated that Tavares was almost certain to come in and play.

However, that hasn’t been the case and yesterday was the first time he’s featured since September when he played against Manchester City.

Tavares was introduced by Forest for the second half yesterday and being totally honest, he didn’t disappoint!

The Portuguese performer does look more confident going forward and it’s easy to say why he was a success at wing-back for Marseille last season.

Who Scored showcased just how useful he was yesterday.

He whipped in four crosses during his 45 minutes on the pitch which was only two less than Morgan Gibbs-White and Danilo who were on corner kicks.

Tavares also won four aerial challenges and on another day he might have scored but on this occasion, he blazed his chance over.

Defensively is where Forest player Tavares can perhaps improve.

He did win one tackle and make one clearance but he also committed two fouls and was cautioned for some clumsy defensive work.

Espirito Santo now has a big decision to make

The million-dollar question here is whether or not Espirito Santo can give Tavares the regular football he craves.

If the answer to that question is yes, then Forest must do whatever it takes to keep him and perhaps more crucially, give him a run in the team.

Tavares scored six goals for Marseille last season and at 23-years-old, he’s a player who is at a nice age.

Yesterday, he showcased that he’s got the ability to get up and down the left-hand side and this was a promising performance.

Naturally, some will say that a player of his ilk should be doing well against a side from League One – and those cynics would have a point.

He does appear to have the skillset for Espirito Santo’s system, however, and perhaps the Forest boss has been given something to think about by Tavares after yesterday.