Nottingham Forest News can exclusively reveal how the football club feel behind the scenes regarding Brazilian midfielder Danilo.
It’s been a character-building campaign for the man who signed for £16 million from Palmeiras in January 2023, with Danilo suffering a broken ankle just 10 minutes into the opening game of the season against Bournemouth.
Remarkably, the 24-year-old made a return to action in January, coming off the bench in the closing stages of the FA Cup third round win against Luton Town, following a rigorous programme of rehabilitation.
The run to the semi-final stage of the FA Cup has given Danilo plenty of valuable minutes, but his time in the Premier League has been restricted, with the youngster making just four starts since the awful injury he sustained.
Photo by Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images
Photo by Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images
Danilo is happy at Nottingham Forest
With games coming few and far between for Danilo, naturally, fans have been left wondering what the future might hold for the versatile midfielder at the City Ground.
However, Nottingham Forest News has been exclusively told by Graeme Bailey that the club anticipate that with a full pre-season under his belt, the player can edge back to his very best during the 2025/26 campaign.
He told us: “In terms of this, I think with Danilo, I think because he had that injury and he had almost half a season out, I did speak to someone briefly about him in terms of his future, and a little bit like Sangare, he’s just needed that extra bit of time.
“I think the situation is similar to Danilo. I think he’s happy at the football club, but I think the belief at the football club is that he just needed that full pre-season, then come August, it’ll be a case of seeing the Danilo that the fans saw previously.”
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Danilo has made 62 appearances for Forest in all competitions since arriving at the club, scoring six goals and registering four assists for the team.
Forest linked with Habib Diarra
One complication over the future of Danilo might be that the Reds appear to be looking at other central midfielders, with Strasbourg midfielder Diarra linked with Forest.
Of course, the links at the moment might be the work of agents but it does feel as though each area across the pitch could be strengthened by Forest with European football on the cards next season.
Danilo is a very promising player, however, and given his rapport with the fans at the City Ground, it would be a nice bonus if the club gave him more time to truly nail down a place in the team given what he’s been through on the injury front.