Winger Jota Silva missed out on a deadline day departure from Nottingham Forest due to an administrative error, it has been claimed.
The 26-year-old had been in line for a return to Portugal after 12 months at the City Ground. He was on the radar of Sporting Lisbon for much of the transfer window and they were particularly keen on snapping him up as the cut-off neared.
The arrival of Dilane Bakwa Trentside on Monday will have pushed Jota further down the pecking order with the Reds. But it seems a potential exit collapsed due to Jota not being registered in time.
Reports from the player’s homeland have suggested a deal was agreed between the Forest and Sporting shortly before the Portuguese window closed at midnight. However, it appears it wasn’t fully completed before the deadline.
According to Portuguese newspaper Record, Jota was registered as a Sporting player through FIFA’s Transfer Matching System (TMS) but the league ‘only registered him at 12.01’. As a result, the registration was ‘rejected’ and the transfer 'cancelled'.
Sporting officials cited ‘technical issues’ to try to get the documentation ‘accepted’, Record have claimed. But it was to no avail and the winger remains a Forest player.
It is said the deal comprised a €4.5 million (£4m) loan offer with a €15.5m (£13.4m) option to buy. The Reds were reportedly keen to oversee a permanent move for Jota but accepted a loan deal right at the end of the window.
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Some windows around the world remain open, providing possible exit routes for the former Vitoria Guimaraes man if required. The Eredivisie window closes at 11pm today (Tuesday), while the windows in Belgium, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Greece and Serbia still have several days left to run.
In addition to Bakwa, Forest added Dan Ndoye and Omari Hutchinson to their squad during the window to strengthen their wide options. They lost Anthony Elanga and Ramon Sosa during the window but Callum Hudson-Odoi remains a key figure for head coach Nuno Espirito Santo.
The Reds made moving on fringe players a priority this summer. Eric da Silva Moreira, Josh Bowler and Omar Richards headed elsewhere on deadline day to add to a number of departures already sanctioned by the club.
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