Nottingham Forest must fear Joao Carvalho will go same way as Kieran Dowell

By Mathew Nash

Nottingham Forest broke their transfer record in the summer to bring in young Portuguese talent Joao Carvalho from Benfica. As reported by the BBC, he cost the Reds a £13.2 million fee. Immediately, Nottingham Forest fans were excited.

Carvalho showed glimpses of what he was capable of throughout pre-season and he immediately caught the eye at the start of the season.

However, much like Kieran Dowell last season, the early promise has faded away recently.

In the recent 0-0 derby draw with Derby County, he failed to have any impact and struggled to handle the physical nature of the Derby midfield.

NOTTINGHAM, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 03: Sheffield United’s John Fleck and Nottingham Forest’s Joao Carvalho during the Sky Bet Championship match between Nottingham Forest and Sheffield United at City Ground on November 3, 2018 in Nottingham, England. (Photo by Rachel Holborn – CameraSport via Getty Images)

It follows similarly insipid displays against Ipswich Town, Preston, Stoke and Leeds United.

Forest fans are therefore rightly concerned that Carvalho may not be cut out for the rough and tumble of the Championship.

However, this was to be expected. Carvalho is still young and has headed over from a different league with an entirely different culture.

He clearly has bags of ability and, in time, he will be back to his best yet again.

Perhaps a stint out of the starting XI could do Carvalho good, but that is clearly down to Aitor Karanka. Forest fans will just want him firing on all cylinders again soon. Dowell’s tail-off into the second half of last season was a big blow to Forest. They do not want to see the same thing happen to Carvalho.