Nottingham Forest will soon welcome Igor Jesus to the City Ground for the very first time.
The Brazilian striker, who has four caps for the national team, is joining Forest from Botafogo following a well-deserved break after the Club World Cup.
Jesus has signed for a fee in the region of £10 million and he will provide competition for the spot currently occupied by Chris Wood in attack.
The Brazilian media raved about Jesus at the Club World Cup, and before Chelsea thrashed them in the final, the striker was the only player to score against PSG at the competition.
Fans will be excited to see Jesus in action for the first time on the City Ground and it won’t be long before he’s arriving at the club to meet his new teammates.
Igor Jesus lines up for Botafogo prior to their FIFA Club World Cup clash with Palmeiras
Photo by Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images
Igor Jesus reveals his Nottingham Forest squad number
This was always going to be a hot topic of discussion among the fan base.
Jesus had the bizarre number of 99 on his shirt with Botafogo and many anticipated he might do the same at Forest.
However, he’s told Forest Fan TV that Premier League regulations stipulate that he’s unable to wear the number 99, and instead he’s been forced into another number.
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He said: “So actually, I think in the Premier League, there are a lot of rules about it, I think it could even go up to 80, but I picked 19.”
At 24, Jesus feels at the right age to come in and make an immediate impact at the club.
Given a lack of summer signings so far, the Reds need Jesus to step up from the off and start scoring goals in the Premier League and in Europe.
Jesus isn’t short of confidence and he showed flashes of what he can offer at the Club World Cup.
The last five Nottingham Forest players to have worn number 19
Alex Moreno
Moussa Niakhate
Tom Ince
Rafik Djebbour
Simon Cox
With Wood scoring 20 goals last season, it’s clear that he won’t have an easy time of things getting in the Forest team.
However, Wood is 34 next and as a result, he won’t play as many games next season as he did last and that should hand Jesus plenty of opportunities to shine.