Nottingham Forest have this morning completed the signing of Portuguese forward Jota Silva on a four-year contract.
The Reds have moved quickly with this one and managed to get a deal over the line for a player who was linked with other clubs.
Forest have signed Silva from Vitoria Guimaraes in Portugal where he ripped up the top-flight during the 2024/25 campaign.
Silva – who has been compared to Jack Grealish – scored 15 times last season and also registered seven assists for his team who qualified for the UEFA Conference League.
At Vitoria, he linked up with Tiago Silva – formerly of Forest fame – and after his move to Nottingham the midfielder has sent an emotional message to his namesake.
Tiago Silva reacts after Nottingham Forest sign Jota Silva
It’s a double celebration for Silva today as he celebrates his 25th birthday on the day he’s signed for Forest.
In total, the two players played alongside each other on 67 occasions and were involved in four goal contributions together.
After departing for the City Ground, Silva sent the Forest newbie a message of congratulations on Instagram that read: “Congratulations, you are an example of hard work and resilience, and that is why you are celebrating a double happy birthday today! You deserve the world.”
That was shared to Silva’s story and the player also had a message for the Forest fans after his arrival was announced.
He said: “It’s a pleasure to represent such a historic club. Come on you reds!”
Cafu is another player who spent time at Forest – playing for the club during the 2021/22 promotion-winning campaign – and he also reacted.
He backed the move and said: “I know he’ll be in good hands too.”
Jota Silva can be more popular than Tiago Silva at Forest
When Tiago signed for the club he was an unknown quantity but his tricky soon earned him a rapport with the fans.
His most famous City Ground moment was arguably behind closed doors when he scored a wonderful free-kick against Bristol City.
He was a magician with the ball at his feet, however, and now Jota Silva will be aiming to emulate him.
It’s interesting that Tiago has praised the Forest signing for his resilience and that level of commitment will be needed in the Premier League.
It would appear that the 25-year-old is quite direct in possession and loves to take aim at goal and help himself onto the score sheet.
Naturally, given that he’s come from the Portuguese league there will be a settling-in period but with the right level of backing, Forest could have a new star named Silva within their ranks.
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