Joao Carvalho shone as Martin O’Neill’s Nottingham Forest beat Middlesbrough in the Championship.
Stephen Warnock has raved about the quality of Nottingham Forest playmaker Joao Carvalho after his starring role in Monday’s 3-0 thrashing of Middlesbrough, speaking to EFL on Quest.
Carvalho, a £13.2 million record signing from Benfica (BBC), has been in and out of the side since Martin O’Neill took over from Aitor Karanka in January. But he offered a timely reminder of his talents over the Easter weekend, producing a Man of the Match performance in a comfortable win against Tony Pulis’ side at the City Ground.
The 22-year-old set up Joe Lolley’s second goal of the game, his seventh assist of the Championship season.
And Warnock, a former Derby County defender who played 30 games for The Rams, has put his allegiances to one side and paid tribute to a player who has the natural talent to become one of the league’s most feared creative talents.
“Carvalho is a superb player. His individual quality is excellent,” said the former England international.
“He has ability on the ball and a fantastic weight of pass. He was the difference against a poor Middlesbrough team, a very defensive Middlesbrough team.”
SDNA claimed earlier in April that Olympiakos were hoping to offer Carvalho an escape route out of the City Ground this summer, having taken Gil Dias away from the East Midland outfit in the January transfer window.
On this evidence, however, Forest simply must keep Carvalho around for a second season.
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