Drogba 2.0, frogs and Dragon Ball Z – who is Forest ‘target’ Igor Jesus?

A quick nutmeg to make room for two center-backs, a darting run between two center-backs, and a cool deflected finish.

Igor Jesus poses in front of the Botafogo fans while his arms are stretched out.

A memorable result came on Friday against Paris St-Germain, the reigning champion of Europe.

He scored for the Brazilian Serie A champions against the Seattle Sounders four days earlier.

Striker Jesus, 24, won the Club World Cup player of the match in both of his games.

He will likely have another chance to impress against Atletico Madrid, making it undoubtedly his breakout season so far.

He occasionally skipped school to watch Dragon Ball Z, a Japanese cartoon.

In the anime, protagonist Goku defeats villains through a unique maneuver known as Kamehameha, which Jesus honors with his customary celebration of putting his wrists together, opening his palms, and locking his arms out perpendicularly in front of him.

He has had many opportunities to perfect it. He has scored 70 goals in 206 professional appearances.

Jesus began his professional career at Coritiba, a Serie-B side that was then based in Brazil’s eighth-largest city.

He helped Coritiba advance to promotion by scoring three goals in 24 appearances as an 18-year-old.

However, he left the following campaign midway through the Emirati side Shabab Al-Ahli after initially having a higher level of difficulty.

He spent four seasons in the Middle East, scoring 46 goals in 92 games, before moving back to Brazil and signing with Botafogo in July 2024.

He has excelled there. Last season, his team won the Serie A and Copa Libertadores titles. He was the leader.

Unsurprisingly, numerous clubs around the world are keeping an eye on the scouting departments.

In Chile, Jesus even made his World Cup debut last October, winning 2-1 in the process.

For a while, Jesus has had a strong relationship with Nottingham Forest.

The Premier League team’s defenders Jair Cunha and Cuiabano are reportedly attracting interest from the Premier League team.

Botafogo relied on Jesus’ hold-up play and ability to create chances out of improbable circumstances despite having only 25.3% possession against PSG.

When his team had so little ball, Jesus, in Opta’s opinion, had the third-most touches of any Botafogo player (39), which is remarkable for a centre-forward.

He also won five aerial battles and won a team-high 16 duels.

Botafogo frequently went long when they faced Seattle. Jesus won six of his seven aerial duals in that game, while his winner was a header despite being 5′ 10″ (1.78m).

His play fits Forest’s, and he would also provide a little more mobility than Chris Wood, the team’s current talisman.

After beating Gianluigi Donnarumma and Willian Pacho in the world stage, Jesus might be gearing up to advance.