Evangelos Marinakis has a strop and blocks Nottingham Forest exit

Nottingham Forest’s Jota Silva has been repeatedly linked to Sporting throughout this summer as he’s not managed to get the prominence he wanted under Nuno Espirito Santo.

Sporting manager Rui Borges previously worked with the winger at Vitória Guimarães and is keen on reuniting with him. Last week, he publicly acknowledged the Lions’ interest in Jota Silva.

Nottingham Forest initially insisted on a purchase obligation before softening their stance at the end of last month. Sporting still haven’t managed to get this deal over the line.

On Thursday, A Bola reported Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis was close to saying yes to sanctioning Jota Silva’s move to Sporting. They have proposed a loan with an option to buy linked to his performances this season.

There’s been a new twist in this saga if a fresh report from A Bola is to be believed. The Primeira Liga winners made an offer to Nottingham Forest on Tuesday, and Marinakis had accepted the conditions proposed.

However, A Bola report the Reds owner, who also own Olympiacos, changed his position yesterday.

The newspaper claims this is because Sporting reached an agreement with Olympiacos’ rival, Panathinaikos, to sign Fotis Ioannidis for €22m plus €3m bonuses. Marinakis had been pushing Sporting to sign Clayton instead, who is owned by another of his clubs, Rio Ave.

Jota Silva wants to join Sporting and super-agent Jorge Mendes, who has good ties with both clubs, is said to be determined to conclude this operation.

Sporting director Bernardo Palmeiro helped Marinakis acquire Rio Ave and A Bola say he could also play a role in helping the Lions sign the attacker. Everyone just needs to wait for Marinakis to calm down.