Gustavo Scarpa has been doing his best to catch the eye in training as he waits to make his Nottingham Forest debut.
Premier League rules meant the Brazilian was not eligible to play in Sunday’s 1-1 draw against Chelsea, but he is available for Wednesday night’s clash at Southampton. It remains to be seen whether he has to settle for a place on the bench initially, though, given the Reds’ starting XI performed well against the Blues.
Nevertheless, head coach Steve Cooper has been impressed with how Scarpa has bedded in at the City Ground. The 28-year-old linked up with his new teammates last month after leaving Palmeiras on a free transfer, and featured in friendlies against Olympiacos and Valencia during the World Cup break. He has also quickly endeared himself to Forest fans with his posts on social media, which have included videos from around Nottingham.
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"He's available, and like every player that comes, they want to make a difference and have an impact,” said Cooper. “We've had a strong programme with him for getting him ready for when he's available, which is now. Hopefully he's as close as he can be to being able to contribute, if needed.
"First impressions are really positive, certainly as a professional and as a person. He's really, really engaged with everything around the club and the city. You guys might have seen that with some of the other stuff he's got up to, but it's all positive!
"I've got to say he's a very good trainer. He's one that you have to monitor after training, because he just wants to do so much more. He loves football and has spent a lot of time learning about the way we want to play.
"Like everyone who comes to England for the first time, you have to have a period of adaptation and feeling what English football is like. We're looking forward to working with him in games.
"He's quite a really humble,quiet guy. He’s very engaged in training.
“I can’t say I’ve seen too much of that side of things (on social media), because it’s not really the world I live in. But I see him every day and I really like his approach to training and how he's built relationships. He speaks good English, which obviously helps coming from South America. Renan (Lodi) is here already and his English is coming on great - he’s really committed to that, so fair play to him.
“It’s good to have him about. He’s made a good impact in training.”
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