OFFICIAL: Gil Dias moves to Nottingham Forest

Gil Dias has linked up with Championship club Nottingham Forest for next year, cutting short what was initially agreed upon as a 2-year loan with Fiorentina from Monaco. It’s no surprise, as he sank down the pecking order in Florence after a decent first half of the season. With Forest, he’ll get a chance to redeem himself and earn a big money move somewhere (remember that his buyout clause was €20 million), which is always at the forefront of superagent Jorge Mendes’ mind.

Dias made 28 appearances in purple, earning 2 goals and 2 assists. At the start of the season, his energy and pace were impressive, as was his willingness to dribble straight at defenders. He looked like an excellent complement to Federico Chiesa, especially after he scored against Hellas Verona in just his 3rd match. However, his form fell off a cliff around January, leading Stefano Pioli to change formations and use Riccardo Saponara and Valentin Eysseric instead.

It’s hard to say what went wrong here. Dias has bags of talent—anyone who starts for the Portugal U21 side is a good player—but it just never quite clicked. He should have a smoother path to regular playing time with the Tricky Trees, especially since his qualities (pace, strength, dribbling, work rate) should fit right in with the English game. We wish him good luck, but are excited to see Pantaleo Corvino bring in more suitable replacement.