Botafogo boss Renato Paiva is “not surprised” by Nottingham Forest’s interest in three of his star men.
The Reds are working on a triple transfer deal involving three players from the Brazilian club. Striker Igor Jesus, centre-back Jair Cunha and left-back Cuiabano could all soon be heading to the City Ground as part of the reshaping of head coach Nuno Espirito Santo’s squad.
Paiva has confirmed there are offers on the table for the trio. However, he has pointed out nothing official has been announced yet.
He told Flashscore: "The club hasn't told me anything officially. It doesn't surprise me at all that there are offers for these players. The club told me that there were offers, but they haven't confirmed anything to me yet.
"There are proposals, yes. Three weeks ago there were surveys, questions about them.
"Alessandro (Brito, director of sports management) and Leonardo (Coelho, director of football) are not here, but they must really enjoy working with me in at least one aspect, because I'm not constantly knocking on the door to ask about players. When they leave, I receive the news normally. That's the life of a coach.
"There are only three or four coaches in the world who are not salespeople. All the rest live in realities where they obviously sell talent. Botafogo is no exception to this reality.
“But given these proposals, I'm not going to go knocking on the door and ask for players, knowing that this could happen at any moment. And also knowing and trusting in the replacement, if there are departures. Botafogo's scout is very good, he has proven it several times.
“My job is to make a football team play, perform, win. That's what Botafogo fans want, not to anticipate problems or worry. I'm going to wait for things to happen. When they happen, if they happen, I'm absolutely sure that the replacements will be good because the names that have been presented to me and that I have also suggested are of great quality, and with the capacity to greatly improve Botafogo.”
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According to Brazilian journalist Vene Casagrande (via Sport Witness), documents have been exchanged between Forest and Jesus’ agents. It is said a five-year contract is on the cards for the forward.
Various reports have suggested the fee involved for the trio is in the region of €34-40 million (£29-33m). Should all go to plan, the players are expected to make the switch after the completion of the Club World Cup next month.
Will the Brazilian trio be good signings for Forest? Click HERE to have your say