It all comes down to a little bit of faith at the end of the day.
Enough faith in someone to show that you actually mean what you’re saying. And right now, there isn’t a lot of that being shown towards a member of the Forest squad.
Amid reports that he could be set to leave the City Ground this January, Sabri Lamouchi has had his say on the future of Forest’s Portuguese midfielder Joao Carvalho. Speaking to the press in the aftermath of the Blackburn Rovers game, Lamouchi talked about the role that the 22-year-old still has to play at the City Ground:
“Maybe if he is a little bit less happy, I can understand that. But I know the quality of the players and he has a lot of quality. I need quality players and Joao is part of the squad, one (of the players) with the best quality. I want him with me. I want him with Forest. He will help us.”
If that is the case, then why is there so little evidence of it?
Some of his lack of playing time can be put down to the injury that he sustained in pre-season, since then. However since he’s recovered, he’s been a bit-part player for the majority of the campaign, only starting eight games and even then he has been bandied about in terms of position.
Quite frankly, there isn’t really a lot of evidence that shows how important a member of the squad he is, and whilst Lamouchi later stressed “it is not easy to change things when you have some victories and some clean-sheets”, if he was as vital a member of the team as he is suggesting, then surely he’d be someone that a team can be built around, with the components changing around him.
Would you sell Carvalho if the right offer came in?
Yes
No
With the transfer window opening up, time is running out for Lamouchi to show not just Carvalho but other players in the team as well just how valuable they are. Otherwise they might start thinking that the grass is greener on the other side and start trying to force a move through.
