Nottingham Forest winger Jota Silva has insisted he never doubted he’d make it to the top, even if the path to get there was a winding one.
Zero Zero cover comments from the winger today after he appeared on Channel 11 in Portugal to discuss his move to the Premier League and his international ambitions.
Silva was one of several new faces to arrive at Nottingham Forest in the summer as Nuno Espirito Santo spent big to shape the squad to better suit his needs.
The 25-year-old joined in a €7m deal from Vitória Guimarães, making his first move out of Portugal after spending his entire career in his homeland.
He started with Sousense’s youth set up before heading to Espinho and then Leixões, a team in Liga Portugal 2.
He eventually joined Casa Pia in Liga Portugal ad made his mark there, managing 16 goals and seven assists in 56 games before a tally of 20 goals and 11 assists in 83 games for Vitória Guimarães.
Now he’s in the big time of the Premier League with Nottingham Forest and he insists he always believed that would be on the cards, even if it took a winding path to get there.
“Collectively we are making a good start to the season, individually too. Everything is going well and my first impressions of the city and the club, are very good,” he said.
“I’ve already had the opportunity to face some of the Portuguese in the competition, I’m keeping in touch with some, and I believe that over the last few years they’ve left their mark on the Premier League. They are there shining and this also demonstrates the quality that Portuguese football has.
“As much as I always believed, it was difficult to say five years ago that I would be playing in the best league in the world. It was a lot of work, a lot of dedication and never giving up.
“There are many paths to success and sometimes some are more complicated, but they have a lot of flavour when you get there.”
