Where does his future lie? At the City Ground, or elsewhere?
That is the question that we need to be asking ourselves when it comes to Joao Carvalho. The Portuguese playmaker hasn’t been seen much since the Championship season restarted, and it’s led to a lot of fans calling out head coach Sabri Lamouchi to make a change and bring him into the fold.
Lamouchi has stated that Carvalho does still have a role to play at the club, but he hasn’t exactly been showing it in recent weeks. When you combine that with stories that are coming out in recent days about Olympiacos being in the market for him, and you have to wonder if he has any future at the City Ground.
To me, I think a lot of it, in fact all of it, is going to depend on what division we find ourselves in next season.
Carvalho has proven himself to be a pretty useful squad player this term when called upon, averaging 0.6 key passes per game and completing more than 80% of his passes, and I think if we were to find ourselves in the Premier League next season, that it would be worth us holding onto him as we’ll need a lot of depth in the squad to compete.
Will Joao Carvalho leave Forest this summer?
Yes
No
If we were to stay down however, I can very well see him being sold. It’s clear to see that Lamouchi doesn’t hold him in too high a regard, given that he’s only started nine times this season in the league, and if we can sell him on to try and fund another push towards the top of the table, I don’t think that there will be much hesitation from the club to shift him out the door.
What about you? What do you make of Carvalho’s position at the club?
Things clearly not right between Joao and Sabri. That’s obvious from him being an unused sub when games were crying out for his creativity. Sabri making a statement. And maybe shooting himself in the foot?