Nottingham Forest signed Brazilian left-back Cuiabano on transfer deadline day before sending him back to Botafogo on loan, where his progress is being tightly monitored.
After a summer of on and off speculation surrounding the Brazilian, Forest agreed a deal to sign Cuiabano to provide cover at the back.
However, once Forest signed Oleksandr Zinchenko to play in the very same role, it became clear that Cuiabano wouldn’t be guaranteed many minutes at the City Ground.
This has led to Cuiabano returning to Botafogo on loan, but the Reds will be heavily involved in his temporary spell back in Brazil.
Cuiabano reacting while playing for Botafogo at Club World Cup
Photo by Elsa – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images
Nottingham Forest’s detailed plan for Cuiabano loan
Remarkably, Forest paid just £5.2m for Cuiabano so they can afford to take time with the 22-year-old, making the loan switch logical.
The Brazilian season ends in December, but before that, Globo Esporte are reporting that Forest are doing all they can to ensure he hits the ground running in the Premier League.
The report said: “Forest established a plan for the full-back in Brazil, including nutritional care, a specific diet, monitoring of different physical percentages, and English lessons. The club also required the Alvinegro [Botafogo] to get a minimum amount of playing time.”
MORE FOREST STORIES
The playing time demand is to be expected, but the nutritional and dietary control is a fascinating insight into what it clearly takes to step up into the Premier League, with these details as important as tactical adaptations.
To get this right, it could be argued that even more time featuring regularly for Botafogo could benefit Cuiabano, but the report continued to confirm Forest’s stance on an extended loan.
Cuiabano will return to Nottingham Forest in January
Coinciding with the end of the Brazilian league season will be the beginning of the Africa Cup of Nations, a tournament that Ola Aina will feature in.
Therefore, the timing couldn’t be better on Cuiabano’s return, with the Reds set to integrate him into Nuno Espírito Santo’s squad immediately.
The report continued: “There was even discussion about a longer loan period from Botafogo, but the situation was ruled out by the English club, which hopes to have Cuiabano starting in January.”
Cuiabano has two goals and an assist in 13 Brazilian Serie A appearances so far this season, with Forest fans now keeping a keen eye on how he performs ahead of his January return.