Nottingham Forest summer signing Jota Silva has admitted he hopes his move to the Premier League side strengthens his chances of featuring regularly for Portugal.
The forward has been speaking to O Jogo about his move to Nottingham Forest in the summer, his first outside of his homeland.
The 25-year-old has enjoyed a steady rise up the divisions so far, starting out at Sousense before joining Espinho, Leixões, Casa Pia and then Vitória Guimarães.
He managed 20 goals and 11 assists in 83 games for the letter as well as 16 goals and seven assists in 56 games for Casa Pia but, as is the case with many players, has largely been overlooked by the national team.
That is a by product of not playing for one of the top teams in the Portuguese top flight and the wealth of talent that Portugal currently boasts a plethora of forwards.
Roberto Martinez can currently call on the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Diogo Jota, Pedro Neto, Rafael Leão and João Félix in his team and that means the likes of Silva can be easily overlooked.
He handed him two appearances earlier this year in friendlies with Sweden and Slovenia and he’s now hoping his move to Nottingham Forest, and the Premier League, bolsters his chances.
“The dream of going to the national team was always there, I kept saying that throughout the years, not just when I was called up,” he said.
“Of course, at the stage I was in, there was a glimmer of hope of being called up. But I also know that I play for a country that has an enormous amount of quality players.
“We have so many good players who can be selected… I know that the coach has a lot of good headaches. But I always believed. And now this step I’ve taken to Nottingham Forest is also important for that.
“And that’s why I’ve taken this step. I want my call-up to be repeated, I want to be in the national team playing for my country.”
