“Dream come true” – Player thrilled to join Nottingham Forest, wants to please fans

Nottingham Forest signed Morato from Benfica on summer transfer deadline day.

The defender has been limited to 35 minutes of action from three Premier League games.

Last month, Benfica president Rui Costa stated they decided to sell the centre-back to Nottingham Forest because he’d lost prominence. He was going to be the fourth choice had he decided to stay.

The 23-year-old has now given an interview to DAZN in Portugal and explained why he decided to join the Reds. His comments are relayed by Record.

The player is thrilled to have swapped the Portuguese club for Nuno Espírito Santo’s side despite the limited minutes so far.

“I’m very happy for the opportunity to wear this shirt, to play for such a historic club,” he said.

“It’s a club with a lot of history in England, two-time European champions, playing in the biggest league in the world and that attracts anyone’s attention. I hope to give something back to the fans, I feel very honoured.”

Benfica signed the Brazilian from São Paulo for their academy in 2019 and promoted him to their first team a year later. He made 86 appearances in all competitions for the Eagles’ senior team.
On his exit from the Primeira Liga side in the last window, the player has stated it was time for him to leave Benfica for Nottingham Forest.

“I felt it was the right time to take this step in my career and I’m very happy with my start here. I believe that players always have to take a step forward in their career, even in terms of professionalism,” Morato explained.

“Playing in the best league in the world is an interesting step in my career. When I was a kid, I grew up watching great games, like the ones in this league. Being here is a dream come true.”

Nottingham Forest, who struggled to avoid relegation in the last two seasons, are 10th in the table, trailing fourth placed Chelsea by four points. Morato is pleased with the start to this season.

“It’s a very positive start, which is mainly down to our ability to defend well and go on the counter-attack,” he added.

“The game here in England is very fast and if we give players like Salah or Palmer space to think and run, it gets complicated. We have tactical flexibility and, in my opinion, an intelligent and effective strategy of pressing quickly after losing possession. This has worked.”