Why Jair Cunha could miss a whole month of the season as Nottingham Forest have big decision to make

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Nottingham Forest signed Jair Cunha from Brazilian outfit Botafogo in the summer transfer window.

Evangelos Marinakis shelled out around £10m on Jair Cunha’s signature after impressing at the Club World Cup.

The 20-year-old was widely regarded as one of the best young defenders in Brazil, so it’s a really exciting signing for Nottingham Forest, who have had success in that market with Murillo.

“Jair is one of the most promising players in Brazil,” O Globo journalist Sergio Santana told The Athletic.

“He is very good on the ball, he can use both feet, even though he is right-footed. He is very strong technically.

“He does make the kind of mistakes that young players do. But he has explosive talent. If the environment is right for him to grow and learn, he can be very good.”

Cunha is yet to make his debut for Forest in a competitive game, and he was left out of the Europa League squad, however, there seems to be a good reason why.

• READ MORE: The craziest Nottingham Forest transfer rumour that didn’t come true this summer, he joined Arsenal

Jair Cunha could be out for up to a month between September and October

Cunha was one of the notable exclusions from Nottingham Forest’s Europa League squad, with Oleksandr Zinchenko and Omari Hutchinson also missing out.

However, it seems Nuno Espirito Santo has good reason to leave Cunha out, as he could be out of action for Forest between September 27th and October 20th.

That’s because Brazil are likely to call him up for the under-20 World Cup in Chile, so Forest have a big decision to make on whether they sanction his departure for the tournament.

Brazil are likely to be one of the favourites, so there is a good chance Cunha could be away for a month, including travel and rest upon his return to the City Ground.

Jair Cunha’s first interview suggests a debut for Nottingham Forest isn’t imminent

Looking back on Cunha’s first interview after signing for Forest, it appears he knew that Nuno wouldn’t put him straight in, allowing him to adapt and get up to speed with the pace of the game in England.

“I’ve spoken to Morato and Murillo. They are great players who have made me feel really welcome. Arriving together with a teammate from the same club is important to allow me to adapt as quickly as possible and be more relaxed,” Cunha told the Nottingham Forest website.

“It was great to arrive at the same time as Igor to feel more comfortable. I’ve spoken to Nuno, the coaching team and all the staff. They are very good professionals, they made me feel comfortable and confident to continue working towards my debut.

“We train very hard to prepare, I give my all in training. I hope to continue giving my all to prepare as well as possible. If the coach and the staff want me to play, I’ll be ready and really looking forward to it.”

So, all things considered, Nuno’s decision to leave him out of the Europa League squad seems more than reasonable.