Head coach Sabri Lamouchi wants Joao Carvalho to remain a Nottingham Forest player, amid speculation linking the club record signing with a January move.
Carvalho has been linked with Turkish side Trabzonspor and fellow Evangelos Marinakis-owned club Olympiacos ahead of the winter window, which opened yesterday.
Having missed the first part of the season through injury, he has struggled to pin down a regular starting place under Lamouchi, with 10 of his 19 appearances in all competitions coming from off the bench.
The Frenchman, though, insists the Portuguese midfielder is a crucial part of his plans as the Reds look to secure a top six finish this term.
Asked about rumours of Carvalho departing this month, Lamouchi said: “I don’t know (about them), but I am happy with Joao.
“Maybe if he is a little bit less happy, I can understand that.
“But I know the quality of the players and he has a lot of quality.
“I need quality players and Joao is part of the squad, one (of the players) with the best quality.
“I want him with me. I want him with Forest. He will help us.”
Forest secured a third straight win as they started 2020 by seeing off Blackburn Rovers 3-2 at the City Ground.
Carvalho was an unused substitute in that clash, and Lamouchi admits changing a winning team is not easy.
“It is not easy to change things when you have some victories and some clean-sheets,” he said.
“We have some key players.
“We are where we are because the team spirit makes the difference, and we need to keep that. Without that, of course it will be very different.”
