Nottingham Forest forward Jota Silva has revealed he immediately jumped at the opportunity to join the ‘historic’ club this summer.
The forward has been speaking to O Jogo about his move and how delighted he is to now be playing in the Premier League.
Silva joined Nottingham Forest in a €7m deal from Vitoria Guimaraes this summer after two years of impressing with the Portuguese side after a €190,000 move from Casa Pia in 2022.
He had long been linked with a move to the Premier League, but it was eventually Nottingham Forest who took the plunge, handing the 25-year-old his first chance at football outside of Portugal.
Of course, there’s a growing Portuguese speaking contingent at Nottingham Forest these days, with Portuguese nationals such as Eric da Silva Moreira joined by the Brazilian group of Danilo, Morato, Murillo and Carlos Miguel.
That means Silva was heading to a dressing room where he could adapt easily and he even sought out the insight of those who had come before him, speaking to the likes of Tiago Silva and Cafu about the club.
They had nothing but positives to share and that only convinced Silva more, having decided immediately on the transfer anyway.
“It was a dream to play in the Premier League,” he said.
“When I heard that Nottingham was interested, I immediately said go for it, because it is also a historic club. It has a very ambitious project and is growing. All of this made me accept and come here. They were very quick choices and decisions.
“I spoke to the people closest to me to help me and give me their opinion. When I heard about Nottingham’s interest, I ended up speaking to Tiago [Silva] who had already been here. He gave me very good information about the club, which also helped me.
“When I came here, Bruno Fernandes sent me a message wishing me good luck, and saying I’d love to be here. Cafu, who also played here, told me straight away that I would be very well received.
“It’s the best in the world. Everyone dreams of playing here and I am no exception. As soon as I heard about the opportunity, I didn’t want to let it slip away.”
Asked generally about his adaptation, Jota Silva again made it clear how content he is at Nottingham Forest: “They were incredible with me. They showed me around very quickly. The club is very familiar, which makes things much easier. They made me feel very comfortable. The fact that we are also starting the season very well makes it easier to adapt. I am very happy.”
On playing for Nuno Espirito Santo, he said: “It’s been really good. It really helps in my first project outside of Portugal to have a Portuguese coach.”
