Over the past few weeks, the Brazilian media have covered Nottingham Forest’s interest in Botafogo’s Igor Jesus, Jair Cunha and Cuiabano.
At the start of this month, Globo Esporte stated the Brazilian club were close to finalising the trio’s transfers to Nottingham Forest. They also reported these three players will only move to England after the Club World Cup.
Igor Jesus has been publicly talking about his impending move to Nottingham Forest. On Monday, he scored in his side’s 2-1 win over Seattle Sounders FC in the Club World Cup.
After the match, the 24-year-old striker opened up about his mixed emotions over leaving his club for Nuno Espírito Santo’s side. Prior to that fixture, Globo Esporte had a chat with Botafogo owner John Textor.
The American businessman says negotiations with Nottingham Forest are with regards to Igor Jesus and 20-year-old Jair Cunha. He adds the Premier League club like 22-year-old left-back Cuiabano, but he’s not part of the discussions between the two clubs.
“Only two players are involved in negotiations with Nottingham Forest. There are lots of rumours about Cuiabano… They [Forest] like him, they want him, but it’s just these two players for now,” he said.
“It’s what I said years ago when I sold Jeffinho to Lyon, we have to be champions for the players before we can be champions for the fans.
“It was an unpopular decision at the time, but if we prove year after year that Botafogo is good for his career, we’ll get more and more players. Our aim is to be in the top three every year and win titles eventually.
“We’ve done a great job of bringing in players, we’ve reversed the order [to Europe]. It’s a champions model.”
Jair Cunha has responded to Textor’s claim about his sale to Nottingham Forest.
“I’m focused on Botafogo and the [Club] World Cup. I’ll leave this matter about my future to my agents. I am focused here, and I hope to continue contributing,” Jair explained.
