Danilo looks set to leave Nottingham Forest, with French side Lyon close to agreeing a deal for the Brazilian midfielder.
With Nottingham Forest’s triple-raid on Botafogo nearing completion, exits from the City Ground are also being rumoured as fellow Brazilian Danilo garners interest.
Lyon want to buy Danilo, and a deal certainly looks possible, given that John Textor owns Lyon as well as Botafogo, so the communication lines between the two ownership groups are strong.
Textor and Marinakis have a good relationship, so with the Danilo deal looking likely, we have taken a look at the potential winners and losers from the departure.
Photo by Rob Newell - CameraSport via Getty Images
Photo by Rob Newell – CameraSport via Getty Images
Winners at Nottingham Forest from Danilo’s departure
Evangelos Marinakis
This relationship between the Forest owner and Textor is becoming rather lucrative for the Reds, especially, so selling another player to Lyon will only help in strengthening it.
Last summer, Moussa Niakhate joined Lyon and was then joined by a fellow Red as Orel Mangala signed for Lyon as well, with Marinakis recouping £31 million from the Mangala deal alone.
Danilo has not been a crucial cog for Nuno Espírito Santo, so allowing him to leave to build up the transfer kitty, as well as strengthen the relationship with Textor, looks to be good business for Marinakis.
Nicolas Dominguez
Dominguez suffered ligament damage so will be out of action for four months, but the departure of Danilo will be a silver lining for him.
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Espírito Santo has often used Dominguez in a hybrid role out on the left wing, a spot that Danilo has also filled this season sporadically after returning from injury.
Elliot Anderson looks to be the only nailed-on starter in central midfield, but with Danilo leaving it would give Dominguez a leg-up as the go-to option in this hybrid role.
Photo by Jon Hobley | MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Photo by Jon Hobley | MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Losers at Nottingham Forest from Danilo’s departure
Murillo
There are plenty of strong bonds in the Forest squad, with Danilo and Murillo good friends given that they’re both Brazilian. Therefore, Murillo will be hit particularly hard by the news of Danilo’s departure.
Murillo was delighted to see Danilo back when he returned from injury in January, so it’s clear that the departure will impact him.
The Brazilian contingent at Forest also includes Morato and Carlos Miguel, as well as the potential arrivals of Igor Jesus, Jair Cunha and Cuiabano, so hopefully the disappointment of seeing a close friend depart won’t impact Murillo as heavily.
Danilo
A player’s own response to a transfer also has to be considered in these deals and by all accounts, Danilo was happy at the City Ground.
Nottingham Forest News exclusively revealed that Danilo wanted to stay at Forest and build himself back up to full fitness in pre-season after his injury-hit 24/25 campaign.
Now, though, he may have to do this while building up trust with a new manager in a new league, making the situation more complicated than he would’ve liked.
With the likes of Niakhate and Mangala at Lyon already, Danilo should at least have some familiar faces to help ease what will be a significant transition.