Immediately he took to Instagram to thank the fans for supporting him all season.

The attacking-midfielder cost a club-record £13.2m and though he has shined in spells, overall he has struggled with the competitiveness of the Championship and in particular the physicality.

Nottingham Forest went big to get Carvalho and his returns for an attacking midfielder have not been great. He has scored four goals and registered eight assists. These numbers are not bad but for a team that wanted to challenge for the playoffs they needed greater goal contribution from their club-record-man.

This could be because he has found his game time severely limited since Martin O’Neill took over as Forest manager, only starting six games since January.

The Forest fans though appear to have taken him to their hearts and perhaps they understand that he will need some time to adapt to the rigorous nature of the Championship.

The 22-year-old will no doubt have a good rest and return for Forest fresh and eager, as they try to make it to the Premier League next season.