I saw £11m Nottingham Forest player fluff his lines after getting golden chance to impress Nuno
Yesterday at 03:00 PM
Nottingham Forest won 3-2 against Southampton to keep up the pressure on Liverpool and Arsenal at the summit of the Premier League table – but this wasn’t an easy game.
In truth, it should have been a cakewalk. Forest raced out of the blocks and scored three times in just over 30 minutes, with Elliot Anderson, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Chris Wood bagging the goals.
The Reds allowed Southampton the chance to get back into the game, however. Jan Bednarek scored a fluke of a goal that deflected over Matz Sels and then with 11 minutes of injury time remaining Paul Onuachu headed home to make things really nervy.
Callum Hudson-Odoi limped off during the game and the hope will be that it’s nothing too serious for him to contend with. His replacement Jota Silva earned an extended chance to prove himself in the team with Nuno Espirito Santo summoning the winger from the bench.
Jota Silva fluffs his lines after Nottingham Forest chance
This shouldn’t be a time to bash players – especially after another victory. However, Silva won’t have been happy with this performance after getting a chance to come off the bench after just 37 minutes.
Silva came on and played on the right, with Anthony Elanga moving to the left that was vacated when Hudson-Odoi felt something painful in his leg that prevented him from carrying on.
The 25-year-old is typically all-action and having failed to take his last chance in the starting eleven over a prolonged period, this would have been a big moment in the mind of Silva.
However, things just didn’t work out for him and ultimately, this was a performance that he will want to see the back of in a hurry as he looks to get himself into the Forest team.
Jota Silva stats vs Southampton
There is definitely a player in Silva and it’s up to Espirito Santo to unearth that player in the coming years. Indeed, his versatility to play anywhere across the front three is a very useful asset.
Silva would perhaps benefit from taking a leaf out of the book of Hudson-Odoi. He knows perfectly when to keep control and when to try and attack his man down the flanks.
| Jota Silva stats vs Southampton | Total |
| Minutes | 53 (+12 stoppage time) |
| Pass Accuracy | 69.2% |
| Successful Crosses | 0 |
| Touches | 24 |
| Passes | 13 |
| Who Scored Rating | 6.31 |
Right now, Silva is extremely raw and at times borderline naive when it comes to both his approach to attacking and when it comes to giving away needless fouls on opposing players.
There is a learning process that Silva has to do in order to make a go of his move to England. Today, it does appear as though he fluffed his lines a little bit and he will hope to improve as the season reaches it’s final few months.
