Nottingham Forest complete signing of Benfica midfielder Joao Carvalho for club-record fee

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Joao Carvalho, right, and Diogo Goncalves have signed for Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest have completed a club-record transfer for the signing of Benfica midfielder Joao Carvalho in a deal worth around £13m.

The 21-year-old midfielder joins from the Primeira Liga runners-up (Portugal’s equivalent of the Premier League) having made seven appearances for Benfica senior side since 2015.

Carvalho made his debut for the first team in October 2017 where he came on as a substitute in Benfica’s 1-0 away win over SC Olhanense for the Taca de Portugal (the Portugese equivalent of the FA Cup).

He signed a professional contract in 2015 after spending 10 years in the youth setup.

For Benfica B, Carvalho made 80 appearances scoring nine goals.

He has represented Portugal at every youth level but is yet to make an appearance for the senior team.

The transfer fee smashes the Reds’ former record, which was £5.5m for striker Britt Assombalonga from Peterborough United in August 2014.

Forest then sold him to Middlesbrough for £15m last summer.

Forward Diogo Goncalves, also from Benfica, has signed on a season-long loan deal for the Reds.

The 21-year-old signed his first professional contract at Benfica in 2015 and scored 16 times in 86 appearances for Benfica B.

He made his debut for the senior team in August 2017 where Benfica won 3-1 in a victory over Braga.

In October 2017, Goncalves made his UEFA Champions League debut where Benfica lost 1-0 at home to Manchester United.

He has also represented Portugal at every youth level except for the senior team.

Both players are represented by agent Jorge Mendes, whose clients also include Cristiano Ronaldo, Diego Costa and Jose Mourinho.

Mendes has been named Best Agent of the Year at the Globe Soccer Awards six consecutive times from 2010 to 2015.

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