Nottingham Forest legend Garry Birtles has expressed his sympathy for departed midfielder Joao Carvalho.
The Portuguese playmaker has linked up with Spanish second division side Almeria on loan for the rest of the season after falling out Sabri Lamouchi’s plans at the City Ground.
Forest have struggled to get the best out of Carvalho since his £13 move from Benfica in 2018.
Speaking as a special guest on the latest edition of Nottinghamshire Live’s Garibaldi Red podcast, Birtles said Forest’s style of play in recent seasons has not suited the player.
“He's frustrating to say the least, but I also have sympathy for him because you’ve got to look at the way Forest play, which has been very negative under the last three managers,” said Birtles.
“He’s the sort of player who makes things happen in the final third and when you’re only playing one up front and sit on the back foot for most of the game and try to counter-attack, it’s difficult for a player like him to get involved on a regular basis.
“Clearly, he’s got ability. There was no end product, but the reason for that was because very few people were getting into the box.
“The way Forest set up is Lewis Grabban up front and that’s it. There’s been no plan B, very rarely from any of the managers.
“Last season, they only won two games they had been behind in. So when they go behind, they find it very difficult to come back and win a football match. That’s really damning.
“For a player like Carvalho to play in a system like that is very difficult.
“I hope he goes on and proves people wrong. A player of his ability can quite quickly get bogged down, lose his confidence and just disappear. You don’t want players like him to do that.”
