Renan Lodi will be staying at Premier League outfit Nottingham Forest until the end of the season despite reports linking the Atletico Madrid loanee with a return to Brazil during the January transfer window, his agent tells Globo Esporte.
Like so many of Steve Cooper’s summer signings, Renan Lodi’s City Ground story has been one of gradual improvement.
The Brazilian international started badly but headed into the World Cup break playing his best football yet in Garibaldi red.
Lodi’s confidence was handed a timely boost, too, by that wonderful curling finish during the 2-0 triumph over Antonio Conte’s Tottenham Hotspur in the EFL Cup. With his weaker right foot no less.
And while some have suggested that Lodi could be on his way out of Nottingham Forest ahead of schedule, with the January window less than a month away, the 24-year-old’s agent has now moved to calm those fears.
Lodi, as agreed, with be a Forest player until the end of May.
Atletico Madrid loanee Renan Lodi will not be leaving Nottingham Forest in January
“Today, he’s at Forest until June. There is no chance of him leaving,” explains Pablo Miranda. “And we respect the signed contracts.”
Lodi has been pictured training with former employers Athletico Paranaense during the World Cup break. Thus, sparking rumours of a potential return to the 2022 Copa Libertadores runners-up.
According to Miranda, however, those suggesting that Lodi is set for a second spell at the Arena da Baixada are simply adding two and two together, and getting five.
“I haven’t spoken to (Athletico president Mario Celso) Petraglia about Lodi since 2019,” Lodi’s representative adds.
According to The Sun, Nottingham Forest have an option-to-buy clause in Lodi’s contract. One that, if triggered, will set the two-time European champions back around £25 million. Not including the £5 million loan fee they paid Atletico Madrid in the summer.
While Lodi may not be returning to Brazil any time soon, one player making a move in the opposite direction is Gustavo Scarpa. The former Palmeiras playmaker, who won Brazil’s Golden Ball after a stellar 2022 campaign, was officially confirmed as a Nottingham Forest player over the weekend.
Nottingham Forest announce Gustavo Scarpa arrival from Palmeiras
“I’m very happy to be here. It is a dream for me,” Scarpa tells Forest’s official website.
“It’s a new challenge and I can’t wait for it to begin. It’s always been an ambition since I was a little kid to play in Europe. And my dream is to play in the Premier League.
“I’m a technical player but also I’ve developed my game defensively over the past couple of seasons. I’m very dedicated, hard-working and I’m excited to get started now.”
Scarpa joins on a free transfer. Capped once by Brazil, the diminutive assist-machine won eight trophies in five years at Palmeiras.
“He’s an attacking midfielder. He is not particularly well-built but he has a lovely left foot. A wand of a left foot,” South American expert Tim Vickery tells talkSPORT.
“He’s going to struggle with the physicality. But that left foot, from set-pieces… terrific. And just the fact that he wants that experience of living in another country, experiencing another culture, that makes the whole adaptation process a lot easier.”
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