Nottingham Forest have continued their business in the summer transfer window with the signing of Vitoria de Guimaraes winger Jota Silva.
Nuno Espirito Santo has spent the previous six weeks of the market strengthening his goalkeeping, defensive and midfield ranks.
Securing deals for the likes of Carlos Miguel, Nikola Milenkovic and Elliot Anderson have the potential to take Forest to the next level, and their chances of achieving that are only boosted by the arrival of Jota.
The East Midlands outfit have revealed that the 25-year-old has signed a contract at the City Ground until 2028.
Although a fee has not been disclosed, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has claimed that Forest are paying Vitoria a fixed fee of €7m (£5.9m).
A further €6m could be paid in add-ons, with Vitoria in line to receive €3m (£2.5m) if Jota plays 15 matches and another €3m if he scores 10 goals.
Signing on his 25th birthday 🥳
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) August 1, 2024
Feliz aniversário, Jota! 🇵🇹 pic.twitter.com/Gbhrf3OPWm
What are Forest getting in Jota?
Jota being a two-cap Portugal international immediately stands out, his two outings for his country coming in friendlies against Sweden and Slovenia in March.
While the versatile attacker did not do enough to earn a place in Roberto Martinez's Euro 2024 squad, there is potential for him to be more involved going forward.
The best campaign of his career came in 2023-24, with 11 goals and six assists being contributed in the Primeira Liga. His overall return in two seasons for Vitoria is 20 goals and 11 assists from 83 outings in all competitions.
As recently as last week, Jota scored the only goal of the game as Vitoria defeated Floriana in the first leg of their Europa Conference League second qualifying round tie.
Nevertheless, in the final year of his contract, he has opted to sacrifice European football for an opportunity in the Premier League.
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Forest looking strong in final third
Forest now have six proven players for their three or four positions in the final third, many of whom can be deployed in more than one position.
As it stands, Jota is effectively only an alternative to Borussia Dortmund loanee Giovanni Reyna, who has since returned to his parent club having failed to make an impact during the second half of 2023-24.
That said, in Morgan Gibbs-White, Anthony Elanga, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Jota, Taiwo Awoniyi and Chris Wood, head coach Nuno can have no complaints with the make-up of his attacking talent, with at least one more fresh face likely still to come.
Darren Plant
