As preparations for the 2019/20 campaign begin to get underway, every single Nottingham Forest fan out there will be urging the club to keep hold of Joao Carvalho.

The 22-year-old has endured a rocky time at the City Ground since his club-record move from Benfica last season, arriving for a reported fee of £13.2million.

The Portuguese playmaker soon became a regular under Aitor Karanka, but his season was thrown into limbo when Martin O’Neill took the reins on Trentside, and he has since made just four league starts under the Irishman.

Reputable journalist Alan Nixon has recently claimed that both Carvalho and fellow summer recruit Hillal Soudani could be set to leave Forest this summer, and potentially move to owner Evangelos Marinakis’ other club Olympiacos.

But Forest fans have now been given new hope of keeping Carvalho at the City Ground, via his girlfriend’s Instagram page. The midfielder’s partner answered questions in a Q&A session, and responded when someone asked if they will be looking to live in Nottingham over the next few months.

Carvalho was impressive for O’Neill’s side in the final three league games of the campaign, and having finished the season with four goals and eight assists to his name, he is clearly one of their more dangerous players.

The Verdict

You’ve got to be buzzing if you are a Nottingham Forest fan and you see this.

At times last season, it seemed almost inevitable that he would leave this summer, as he just didn’t seem like O’Neill’s type of player.

But he really impressed against Middlesbrough, QPR and Bolton, and has certainly gave O’Neill a bit of a headache going into the summer.