Aitor Karanka says he has no plans to make Diogo Goncalves “play in another position” despite the Nottingham Forest winger struggling for form and playing time in his debut season. Goncalves joined Forest on loan from Benfica over the summer and has made only three Championship appearances under Karanka.
The 21-year-old been used as a winger for the Reds but has played wing-back for Portugal u21. Nevertheless, Karanka isn’t going to make Goncalves take up the same position at club level as he believes the youngster has a lot to adapt to after his summer move from Portugal to England.
He said to Nottingham Live: “I don’t think so, no. Diogo is taking time to settle in here, because this league is not easy for a player in his position. So imagine how tough it would be for him to adapt if we want to ask him to play in another position. The main thing with him is to get him confident to play. To change his position now would be a mistake.”
Goncalves made two league appearances (versus Bristol City and West Bromwich Albion) at the start of the season before being frozen out for two months. He was often left out of the matchday squad or an unused substitute for Forest and had to wait until October 20 to make his third league appearance – against Norwich City.
Karanka did use Goncalves in three of Forest’s four EFL Cup games but barely gave him a sniff in the Championship. After the winger featured against Norwich, he was left out of the squad entirely for their next five games. He clearly has a lot of work to do before Karanka will be convinced to bring him back into the side, but his manager is happy to give him all the time he needs to adapt.
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