Gustavo Scarpa explains decision to join Nottingham Forest over Olympiacos

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Gustavo Scarpa has said Palmeiras manager Abel Ferreira was the main reason why the 28-year-old opted to sign for Nottingham Forest despite an offer from Greek champions Olympiacos.

Speaking to Band, the Brazilian midfielder revealed that the 43-year-old coach was the one to convince Scarpa to move to the Premier League with Forest rather than heading to Olympiacos, even with the Greek giants winning the league last season and being regulars in Europe.

Globo Esporte recently reported that Scarpa had agreed to sign for Forest in the January transfer window, with the midfielder bidding farewell to Palmeiras earlier this week as the Sao Paulo side won the Brasileiro title in what was a perfect final year for the dynamo.

Yet despite interest, it is Forest who have won the race to sign Scarpa, with the midfielder expected to join up with Steve Cooper’s side in the January transfer window as the Welsh coach looks to get the Nottingham-based side out of the Premier League relegation zone.

Forest’s return to the top-flight has been anything but easy, yet a new recruitment in Scarpa could be exactly what the City Ground side need to boost morale in January. Yet according to the player himself, things could have been a lot different had his manager not told the midfielder to move to England instead of Greece.

Scarpa said: “I called the manager to talk, at first I was going to Olympiacos and he didn’t like it very much. He said that Greece was not the place for me. He said I had a lot of potential and he wasn’t going to help me with Greece, but if this England thing was true, he just wished me luck and thanked me.”

Nottingham Forest have done well to capture Scarpa signing

A two-time Copa Libertadores champion and now a two-time Brasileiro winner, Scarpa is leaving his homeland after an incredible career with Palmeiras. And for Forest, the Premier League side have done well to win the race to sign the 28-year-old at this stage.

Indeed, Scarpa is reaching into the prime of his career, and with Forest eager to bolster their midfielder with experienced and quality players, the Brazilian is more than perfect to fill out the role for Cooper’s side in the second-half of the Premier League season.