Nottingham Forest have made a good start to the 2024/25 campaign and 12 games in, the Reds are seventh in the Premier League table.
Let’s not kid ourselves, we’d have taken that at the start of the campaign!
Forest have already visited Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and Brighton this season, claiming five points from those fixtures.
Many pundits had Forest to be relegated and Gary Lineker has already changed his mind on that prediction which he made.
The secret to a positive start to the season has been the new-found strength in depth that Nuno Espirito Santo has instilled at Forest.
That is embodied by the fact that £11 million summer recruit Jota Silva is yet to start a game in the Premier League.
The Portuguese performer has been making an impact from the bench and he will hope to get an opportunity to start as the season progresses.
Jota Silva shares who has helped him settle in England
The lively performer was a surprise signing when Forest were busy targeting wingers during the summer transfer window.
Silva arrived as an unknown quantity but he’s given his all in every single game that he’s featured in when being introduced from the bench.
He’s been interviewed by CNN Portugal following his first few months at Forest and he’s hailed head coach Espirito Santo for his impact in helping him settle.
He said: “I can’t make personal assessments, I just like to look at the collective and I think we’re making a fantastic start to the championship, we have an incredible squad and that makes me feel really good here in England. That’s what I wanted.
“It’s been great working with Nuno Espírito Santo. Having a Portuguese coach in my first season outside Portugal is always great to help me integrate. It’s been fantastic.”
Silva deserves Forest star in coming weeks
It’s about time that the player received a start and Anthony Elanga’s injury sustained on Saturday might give Silva a sniff of one.
The versatile player looks like an exciting addition to the squad and what he does bring is genuine competition for places from the bench.
It’s intriguing that he’s praised Espirito Santo for helping him settle, with the Forest boss often getting a bad reputation for his sometimes mundane interviews with the media.
However, he’s got Forest’s best interests at heart and it’s hard to imagine that he wouldn’t have tried to help all of the club’s new signings settle this summer.
Forest play Ipswich this weekend and perhaps now is the time for the Forest head coach to turn to Silva to actually play from the off.
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