The Jota Silva saga isn’t over just yet. At least not in Portugal, where pundits are now busy pointing fingers after Sporting missed out on the Nottingham Forest winger by the tiniest of margins.
Appearing on CNN Portugal, journalist [**Bruno Andrade**](https://maisfutebol.iol.pt/videos/68b6ecf40cf2ba9f720f20bc/jota-silva-marinakis-viu-o-sporting-tentar-yeremay-e-kevin-por-30-milhoes?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ed-maisfutebol) didn’t hesitate to call out Evangelos Marinakis for his role in the collapse.
_“There are many people you could blame, but especially Marinakis,”_ said Andrade. _“He delayed the negotiations until the very last minute. In my view, the main reason was that he tried to push for a permanent deal in the final days. He eventually compromised for a loan with a purchase option, but by then he was already annoyed.”_
Why? Andrade explained: _“Sporting had spent days, if not weeks, chasing Yeremay and later Kevin for €30m-plus… and then tried to lowball Jota. Marinakis thought, ‘If you’ve got money for them, you’ve got money for me too.’”_
Meanwhile, fellow pundit [**André Pipa**](https://maisfutebol.iol.pt/videos/68b6ed030cf28cf8876845dd/jota-silva-nao-era-a-prioridade-numero-um-do-sporting?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ed-maisfutebol) was just as unimpressed – but his sights were set on the Lisbon side.
_“You never leave big business for the last day,”_ Pipa snapped. _“I’m convinced Jota Silva was never Sporting’s top target. But they failed badly here, no doubt._
_“It was a clear request from the manager. But it seems Yeremay was the club’s real priority, while Jota was only Rui Borges’ priority”_, he said.
The whole mess is still causing waves. Nottingham Forest and Sporting did reach a last-minute deal, but failed to register the player with Liga Portugal in time. His name didn’t make the list.
Now Jota Silva stays at Forest, out of Nuno’s plans, without a move, and probably wondering how it all slipped away.