Why Gil Dias could be vital for Nottingham Forest’s promotion bid next season
Nottingham Forest will be fighting to win promotion to the Premier League for the time since 1999 in the upcoming season. Greek owner Evangelos Marinakis, who also owns Greek Super League side Olympiakos, has invested heavily in Aitor Karanka’s side.
The club have brought in a plethora of players which includes the likes of Michael Dawson, Costel Pantilimon, Jack Robinson, Tobias Figueiredo, Jack Colback, Diogo Goncalves, Joao Carvalho, Gil Dias, HillaiSoudani and Lewis Grabban.
However, it could be Gil Dias who plays a vital role in Nottingham’s promotion bid. Dias, a Monaco and Portugal U21 winger, recently joined Forest on a season-long loan. (Sky Sports)
Why Gil Dias?
Gil Dias spent last season on loan with Italian side Fiorentina, making 27 Serie A appearances which included 9 starts. The 21-year-old is the latest Portuguese signing by Forest aided by Jorge Mendes. The highly-rated winger has already netted two goals for the Reds – one of which came via a magnificent effort against Malaga and another in a 2-0 friendly win against Premier League side Bournemouth.
Dias’ experience of playing in the Portuguese Liga NOS and Serie A will be vital. Of all the three Portuguese players, Dias is is the most experienced of them all, having helped Fiorentina to an 8th place finish last season. Not many clubs in the second-tier can boast of such ready-to-turn-to quality.
A good dribbler who loves to take on opponent defenders, Gil Dias has the pace to burn and also puts in his defensive contribution. He never shies away from tracking back to stop opposition attacks. However, his undoing might be his lack of Championship experience.
He boasts a massive reputation as a star of the future and he might as well prove that at City Ground. Dias can play anywhere across the attacking line and also as an attacking midfielder.
Last season, Forest struggled to score goals as Kieran Dowell was the top-scorer with merely 9 goals. Aitor Karanka was in dire need of adding goalscorers to the club and to that end, Forest have signed Grabban. The player netted 20 times in the Championship last season, during loan spells at Sunderland and Aston Villa.
With Grabban playing alongside Gil Dias in Karanka’s preferred 4-2-3-1 formation, Nottingham Forest could storm their way into the Premier League like Wolves did in the previous campaign.
It remains to be seen how Gil Dias adjusts to the unforgiving Championship. However, the success of fellow Portuguese players like Diogo Jota, Ivan Cavaleiro, and Helder Costa at Wolves should prompt the player to give his best.
