Nottingham Forest have completed the signing of Gustavo Sá from Famalicão, with the Portuguese attacking midfielder joining in a permanent deal reported at around €20m (roughly £17m). The 21-year-old had been Famalicão's captain and was also being tracked by West Ham United before Forest moved to get the transfer over the line in the closing days of July, with Sá completing a medical before the deal was signed off. It is one of Forest's more eye-catching pieces of business of the summer, and a clear statement of intent about the kind of player they want in their squad.
The move makes sense given where Forest have been short. They finished 16th in the Premier League last season and were among the division's least creative sides in the final third, managing only 53 big chances all campaign. Sá's game is built around exactly what was missing: he created 11 big chances and completed 44 key passes in Liga Portugal last season, while still doing his defensive share with 46 tackles and 122 ball recoveries. For a club wanting more craft going forward without losing work-rate out of possession, that combination stood out, and his age means Forest are also buying a player they can build around for years rather than a short-term fix.
For Famalicão, it is a significant loss. Sá captained the club to fifth place in Liga Portugal last season, their best-ever league finish, and in March became the youngest player in Portuguese top-flight history to reach 100 appearances, beating a record previously held by João Moutinho. He is well regarded off the pitch too — former Famalicão team-mate Ivan Zlobin said he "makes decisions like a grown man" — and replacing both his creative output and his leadership as captain will not be simple for a club that built its season around him.
His numbers back up the reputation. Sá made 32 Liga Portugal appearances last season, scoring four goals and adding two assists across 2,711 minutes, while completing more than three-quarters of his passes. Those figures, combined with his age and his experience of captaining a top-flight side, explain why interest in him stretched well beyond Forest and why the fee ended up as high as it did.
Here is the twist: Sá will not actually be playing for Forest this season. A day after the transfer was finalised, Forest sent him straight back out on loan to Olympiacos, a club also owned by Forest's owner, Evangelos Marinakis. Using a sister club to provide regular first-team and continental football before a big step up is an increasingly common approach for multi-club ownership groups, and it is seen as a gentler route into the Premier League than throwing a 21-year-old straight into a relegation fight against bigger, more physical opposition.
Forest fans should not expect to see Sá in the City Ground midfield in 2026-27, then. This is a deal built for the future: get a highly-rated young playmaker under contract now, let him keep developing and playing regularly in Greece and in Europe, and bring him into the first-team picture once he is ready to make the jump. If the loan goes well, Forest will have added a ready-made creative midfielder to their squad without having to throw him straight into the deep end.