Having already lost one player to Olympiacos this summer, Nottingham Forest fans have been worrying about the prospect of losing midfield star Joao Carvalho to the same side.
The thought was that Carvalho would join Hillal Soudani in making the switch to the Greek side, once Olympiacos midfielder Konstantinos Fortounis’ move to West Ham United had been completed.
However, sports journalist Konstantinos Lianos is reporting that Fortounis has now agreed to stay in Greece and sign a new deal with the club. The domino effect of which means that Carvalho should be set to stay at the City Ground, or at the very least he won’t be moving to Olympiacos this summer.
Carvalho has only been at the club 12-months, having been signed as their record transfer last summer under Aitor Karanka, and made a reasonable impression during his first season in England, notching up four goals and eight assists in 40 appearances across all competitions.
The speculation was nothing new among Forest fans, though, because as well as Soudani, the Greek side were also linked with signing midfielder Claudio Yacob and defender Yohan Benalouane. And given how the two clubs are owned by the same man, Greek businessman Evangelos Marinakis, there will more than likely be more speculation along these lines in the future.
Despite O’Neill’s best efforts to phase out the Portuguese man by forcing him into a predominantly substitute role during the start of his tenure, he did manage to turn things around somewhat by starting the last three games and chipping in with two assists along the way. So there’s some talent there that O’Neill can use, and Forest fans have really taken to him.
So, hopefully, that brief spell at the end of last season will be enough to lock him down for a starting role come August.
