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Nottingham Forest only moved towards terms acceptable to Sporting Lisbon for Jota Silva right at the end of the transfer window.
Silva was in line to leave the City Ground on deadline day as the Tricky Trees stood ready to sell him for around €19m.
Sporting Lisbon battled to sign the winger, but only wanted to do a loan deal, while Nottingham Forest were demanding a permanent move.
It did seem that the transfer would eventually go through after an agreement was reached, however the documents were not sent to the Portuguese federation in time and the switch collapsed.
And, according to Portuguese sports daily O Jogo, Nottingham Forest only changed their stance on Silva to get close to Sporting Lisbon’s offer ‘right before the transfer window closed’.
That delay in the two clubs agreeing a deal ultimately contributed towards the transfer documentation being late and the switch failing.
Sporting Lisbon did send the documents on FIFA’s TMS system in time, but they did not get to the Portuguese federation before the midnight deadline.
The agreement that was eventually reached would have seen Sporting Lisbon pay Nottingham Forest a loan fee of €4.5m.
| Player | Years | Total appearances |
|---|---|---|
| Bob McKinlay | 1951–1969 | 682 |
| Ian Bowyer | 1973–1981, 1982–1987 | 541 |
| Stuart Pearce | 1985–1997 | 522 |
| Steve Chettle | 1986–1999 | 503 |
| Jack Burkitt | 1947–1962 | 503 |
The deal would also have had an option to buy included in it, which would be set at €15.5m.
A number of transfer windows are still open and it remains to be seen if Silva can find another escape route.
He has fallen out of favour at the City Ground and looks set for only limited game time under Nuno if he stays put.
Alternatively, Sporting Lisbon could try to revive the deal in the January transfer window.
The loan fee they would pay would surely be lower though as they would only have Silva for half a season.
