The transfer window brings the chance to get excited about new incomings, but Nottingham Forest have just had to say goodbye to a fan favourite.
Outgoings have been the story of the transfer window so far at the City Ground, with Anthony Elanga’s £55m departure to Newcastle United the most substantial so far.
Another winger also departed as Ramon Sosa signed for Palmeiras, while the ongoing story of Morgan Gibbs-White’s potential move to Tottenham is still dominating the headlines.
Gibbs-White is training with Forest as it stands, but he won’t be joined by one star, who has just completed a move away from European Football.
Nottingham Forest fans react to Danilo’s Botafogo switch
In a deal that has progressed rapidly, Brazilian midfielder Danilo has completed a move to Botafogo in Brazil, the club owned by former Crystal Palace chief John Textor.
Botafogo entered advanced talks to sign Danilo on Thursday, managing to secure a deal that should see Forest earn a small profit on their £16m investment made back in January 2023.
Despite an injury-hit 24/25 season, Danilo remained a popular figure amongst fans, as echoed in their response to the news on social media.
One fan said: “If only that injury never happened. Wishing him nothing but the best,” with another saying: “I didn’t think this would hurt, but it does.”
Another added: “This one hurts. When Danilo was firing it was a thing of beauty.” One fan continued: “Gutted it’s not worked out for him. Especially with that horrible injury.”
One Forest fan said: “Will always be a fans’ favourite,” while another added: “Really sad to see him go.”
Danilo was not only loved by the fans at the City Ground, the Brazilian’s infectious attitude also saw him become popular with his coaches as well.
Steve Cooper loved coaching Danilo at Nottingham Forest
Signing a player from Brazil always comes with the danger that they won’t manage to settle in English football, both on and off the pitch.
This risk was apparent with Danilo, too, but Steve Cooper relished the challenge of helping him adapt and thoroughly enjoyed watching him thrive once he had.
Speaking to the Nottingham Post, Cooper said: “You try to understand every player, how they learn and how they want to do their work. But time and opportunity in games is the main thing.
“Danilo is a really good example. We really like Danilo and think he has high potential. He’s got a real chance of having a big impact in this country, as he already has for us. But he needed a real programme when he first came.
“[…] You don’t always get it right, you get some things wrong as well – a lot of things. But you’re always trying to manage that situation of a player and give them the right programme, the right opportunity at the right time.
“Danilo has been a good little case study for us. We’ve got Murillo and Andrey [Santos] here; all the players are different in where they’ve come from, but we need to try to get them all up to speed.”
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