Nottingham Forest have tapped into the South American market in recent years and there have been some clear success stories.
Murillo is the one that springs to mind straight away.
The central defender has grown at Forest, with Murillo rejecting Manchester City prior to a £10.6 million switch to the City Ground.
It was claimed in the summer that Murillo is now worth around £70 million and the player looks set to go right to the top.
Then there is Danilo who broke his ankle on the opening day of 2024/25.
He moved to Forest for £16 million from Palmeiras and during the second half of the 2022/23 campaign, he scored some important goals for the Reds.
It hasn’t always worked out for the Brazilian players at Forest though and the tale of Gustavo Scarpa is a little bit of a sad one.
Gustavo Scarpa of Nottingham Forest during the Pre-season Friendly match between Nottingham Forest and Leeds United at the Pirelli Stadium, Burton ...
Photo by Jon Hobley/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Gustavo Scarpa stars since Nottingham Forest exit
Some players are just tailor-made for football in certain countries and that looks to be the case with winger Scarpa.
MORE FOREST STORIES
Forest had already agreed on a deal to sign Scarpa before beating Huddersfield in the Play-Off Final but it was anticipated that he wouldn’t sign until January 2023.
Before joining the Reds, Scarpa won the Golden Ball for his efforts as Palmeiras won the league title for the first time in many years with his assistance.
He only managed 10 appearances for Forest amid injuries, personal problems and the simple case of not being quite at the level required to displace the other forwards.
Scarpa never really wanted to leave Forest but it was apparent that for the good of his career, a move to Brazil would be the best outcome for all parties.
He moved to Atletico Mineiro in January 2024 and he hasn’t looked back, enjoying a seriously impressive maiden campaign.
The versatile forward scored nine goals and registered 12 assists for his new team and his fiesty nature was also evident as he collected 10 yellow cards.
Scarpa just feels at home in Brazil and now 30-years-old, it’s clearly where he enjoys playing his best football.
What Ian Wright said about Gustavo Scarpa
The player did enjoy some positive moments in the Garibaldi and the brilliant thing about Scarpa was he always played football with a smile on his face.
After a 2-0 home win against Leicester, Wright was wowed by Scarpa and it was comfortably his strongest performance in a Forest shirt.
He hailed his link-up play with Brennan Johnson and he performed extremely well when he got into his stride alongside the team’s better players.
Scarpa never let anyone down at Forest and in truth, he always gave his all and seemed to revel in the fact that he was given a Premier League chance by the club.
Now, he’s back playing among his home comforts and from a Forest fan perspective it’s nice to see such a good character settled once again.
Related Posts