Nottingham Forest ‘really love’ Nuno Espírito Santo fringe player, only ‘huge profit’ will see him leave

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Nottingham Forest are about to lose Anthony Elanga to Newcastle United for a sizeable profit, and it would take a similar profit to see another of Nuno Espírito Santo’s squad leave this summer.

Elanga is set to sign for Newcastle for an initial fee of £55m, with the potential for add-ons to take the deal closer to the £60m valuation that Forest had on the winger.

The news has seen Forest fans have mixed feelings on the Elanga sale, with the quality of the player weighed up against the profit that can be reinvested into Espírito Santo’s squad.

Evangelos Marinakis would clearly like to continue in this trajectory of only selling players for profit, with Nottingham Forest News learning of another member of the squad who would only leave if a significant fee was achieved.

Nottingham Forest ‘really love’ fringe squad player

With Ramon Sosa sold to Palmeiras, the Forest squad is being trimmed to make room for stronger options ahead of the upcoming season’s European run.

Another in that category looked to be Jota Silva, but transfer expert Graeme Bailey has told Nottingham Forest News that the Portuguese winger is highly regarded at the City Ground.

Bailey said: “I saw the links with Jota Silva leaving and I think that they really love him as a player in the squad, I was surprised with that one.

Obviously, if someone came in with £20-25m for him, then there might be something there. He’s a very useful player but if there is a chance to make a huge profit, then it’ll be looked at.”

Jota has always remained positive about his Forest role, which is perhaps what has impressed the club the most, given that his lack of minutes last season could’ve easily led to dissatisfaction.

His positivity could well be rewarded with more minutes next season, with his underlying stats showing that he has plenty to offer the Forest squad.

Jota Silva has plenty to offer Nuno Espírito Santo

A return to Portugal looked possible for the winger, but Sporting have ended their interest in Jota, leaving him likely to remain in England.

Reflecting on his stats from last season, keeping hold of Jota as a squad player could actually be brilliant news for the club.

Jota only contributed one goal fewer than Callum Hudson-Odoi last season, with the stats behind the goals showing that he was active in taking shots and winning fouls for his side.

Therefore, as a backup option for European football and the cup competitions, Forest would be hard pressed to find a better solution than Jota, especially given his positive attitude to the situation.