It’s been a positive start to the summer for Nottingham Forest, who have made a great impact in the transfer window so far.  

Aitor Karanka has broken the club’s record transfer fee, with Joao Carvalho arriving at the City Ground ahead of next season, whilst other shrewd additions have been made.

Here at FLW, we take a look at Carvalho and compare him to another attacking midfielder Forest have been linked with, Lee Tomlin.

Tomlin spent the second-half of last season under Karanka at the City Ground, where he impressed.

Our latest FLW Duel looks at Carvalho’s stats from last season, comparing them to Tomlin’s.

Carvalho featured on just seven occasions in the Portuguese first division for Benfica, failing to score a goal, whilst Tomlin scored five goals in 28 appearances in the Championship.

The 29-year-old also registered three assists in the Championship, compared to Carvalho’s one.

Tomlin also averaged more shots and passes per game than the 21-year-old over the course of the 2017/18 campaign.

However, Forest’s new club-record buy averaged 0.4 more tackles per game, as well as completing a higher pass success rate at 85.9%.

The Verdict

Tomlin was brought in to provide a creative spark at Forest last season, which is similar to the job Karanka is hoping Carvalho will be able to do.

There was still interest in bringing Tomlin back permanently before Carvalho signed, and it remains to be seen whether Forest move to bring the 29-year-old back in later in the summer.

For Karanka, he must decide whether to pursue another move for Tomlin, who he clearly has a great working relationship with.

There’s an element of risk behind Carvalho’s signing, which could become a limited risk if Tomlin is brought on board as an alternative.

If the funds are there, Forest should still consider moving to bring Tomlin back on board alongside their club-record signing to aid his transition to the English game.

Nottingham Forest fans… Let us know your thoughts!

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