“I never dreamed I would be here” – Jota Silva reflects on Nottingham Forest’s bright start, targets further Portugal call-ups

One of the latest Portuguese to land in the Premier League is Nottingham Forest attacker Jota Silva, who has already had some bright moments during the early stages of his career in England.

Speaking at the Quinas de Ouro awards in Lisbon on Monday evening, Jota Silva admitted that his rise to what is widely considered the best league in the world is something he could scarcely have imagined a few years ago.

The 25-year-old arrived at Forest from Vitória at the start of August, having played in the Conference League qualifiers for his former club. Since joining Nuno Espírito Santo’s side, Jota Silva has been used entirely as a substitute in the Premier League, where notched an assist against Brighton, while an outing in the League Cup against Newcastle brought his first goal in English football.

“As I always say, no matter how much I always believed, it's hard to say that five or six years ago I would be in the National Team and that I would be playing in what is for many, and for me too, the best league in the world,” he said on Monday at the Centro Cultural in Belém.

“It was a lot of work, a lot of dedication, it was never giving up and always thinking that there are different paths to success, some are more complicated, but they have a different flavour.

“The impressions [at Forest] are very good, firstly because, collectively, we are having a great start (5th place) to the season. It is an historic club, everything is going well, individually I am also doing well, so my impressions are very good, both about the club and the city. I am enjoying it.

“In recent years the Portuguese have left their mark on the Premier League, coaches, players, we have many Portuguese there shining in great teams, putting in good performances and winning titles. That just shows the quality that Portugal has.”

Jota Silva was first called up to Roberto Martínez’s Portugal squad in March as reward for his form with Vitória, where his outstanding play last season saw him score 15 goals and register 7 assists across 42 matches in all competitions.

“I have to come back to the National Team,” he said. “That’s what I’m working for, I’ll always work. It’s a decision for the coach, I know it’s a difficult decision, Portugal has many good players, but I have to come back.”

By @SeanGillen9