Igor Jesus joins Forest

On this day in 2025 Nottingham Forest signed Brazilian striker Igor Jesus from Botafogo.

Player signings and departures

Permanent signings

Igor Jesus playing for Nottingham Forest against Fulham in December 2025. Image: Timmy96 / CC0 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Nottingham Forest signed Brazil striker Igor Jesus from Botafogo on a four-year deal, with the fee widely reported to be around £10 million. He was the club’s first signing of the summer—and arrived with far more pedigree than many Forest fans may initially have realised.

Jesus had come through at Coritiba before spending nearly four years with Shabab Al Ahli in the United Arab Emirates. He returned to Brazil with Botafogo in 2024 and helped them win both the Copa Libertadores and the Brazilian title. His form also earned him a Brazil call-up, and he scored on his international debut against Chile.

Most Forest supporters really started paying attention during the 2025 Club World Cup. Jesus scored against Seattle Sounders and then grabbed the winner as Botafogo shocked European champions Paris Saint-Germain 1-0. Suddenly, £10 million looked like a very interesting piece of business.

Forest needed another striker to share the burden with Chris Wood, particularly with European football returning to the City Ground for the first time in 29 years. Jesus brought something different: pace, strength, relentless running and a willingness to press defenders all night.

His first Forest goals came with a League Cup double against Swansea City. Forest somehow threw away a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2, but Jesus had at least shown supporters what he could do in front of goal.

His real breakthrough came a week later in the Europa League opener at Real Betis. Jesus scored twice in five minutes, including Forest’s first goal in major European competition since 1996, and nearly completed a hat-trick when another effort hit the post. It was quite an introduction to European life in the Garibaldi.

Europe quickly became his stage. He scored the late winner at Utrecht, struck twice against Ferencváros and also found the net against Porto and Fenerbahçe as Forest reached the Europa League semi-finals. His seven goals made him the competition’s joint-leading scorer and broke the club record for goals in a major European season, previously held by Garry Birtles with six in 1978/79.

Jesus ended his first Forest season with 16 goals and five assists from 52 appearances in all competitions. Six of those goals came in the Premier League, along with four assists, and he finished as the club’s joint-leading scorer overall.

It was not a perfect first season. He could be frustrating in league matches, missed chances supporters felt he should have buried and sometimes struggled to make an impact against packed defences. The constant changes around the club hardly helped him settle either.

Even so, Forest fans warmed to him. He worked hard, never stopped making runs and seemed to come alive whenever the Europa League anthem played. He may not have been completely convincing every week in the Premier League, but seven European goals and a place in Forest’s record books made his first season one to remember.