Tendayi Darikwa was full of praise for Joao Carvalho, saying his Nottingham Forest teammate is “doing well”. Carvalho joined the Reds from Benfica over the summer and has gone on to make 18 appearances in all competitions, scoring and creating seven goals.
The 21-year-old, who signed a five-year deal with Forest, has become a key player under Aitor Karanka this season and is one of the first names on the teamsheet. Prior to his City Ground arrival, Carvalho made 10 appearances for Benfica but failed to hold down a starting place in the first-team so he sought a move to a club willing to give him the opportunities.
Forest signed a number of Portuguese players over the summer – Carvalho, Tobias Figueiredo, Gil Dias and Diogo Goncalves. Carvalho has taken his opportunity to impress with both hands and Darikwa says he’s playing a key role in the team as he’s perfectly moulded into Karanka’s style.
The right-back said to Nottingham Live: “The three Portuguese lads have all come in and done well, but that are also still very young players. Everyone will adapt to this league at their own pace and, at the minute, Joao is in the team and doing well for us. He is a big part of the team and the way we play. But the other two will be as well.”
Carvalho wasn’t cheap. Forest paid around £13m to procure his signature, so his bright start to life in the Championship won’t come as a surprise. He could be key in their promotion hopes, with the Midlands outfit sitting one place and one point off the playoffs a third of the way into the campaign.
